As the season-ending sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks showed Duncan Robinson, there was a price to be paid for his emergence as a shooting star. Soon it will be the Miami Heat with a price to pay, as Robinson moves on to free agency.
Even in the wake of an uneven close to his second full NBA season, Robinson will be paid this offseason. That was all but assured based on contracts received by Joe Harris, Davis Bertans, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari last offseason.
On one hand, with Robinson a restricted free agent, the Heat are positioned to be able to match outside offers. On the other, the Heat already have Jimmy Butler on the books for $36 million next season and Bam Adebayo for $28 million, meaning a sizable Robinson deal could have luxury-tax consequences next season and then salary-cap implications going forward.
Monday, as Heat players cleared out lockers after being swept 4-0 in the first round, Robinson outlined his priorities, while stressing he was in the preliminary stages of such deliberations.
“I’m just trying to get all the information possible, so I can make the best decision possible,” he said. “In terms of the different factors that contribute, all of them do, to some extent. First and foremost, the fit, a place where I can really feel comfortable. Winning is obviously a priority for me, as well. And then, of course, it’s also a business and there’s an opportunity to make money to take care of people that I love the most. So that’s also a priority, as well.
“So any place that can offer all of those is a destination that I would be excited about. Obviously, I’ve had an incredible experience here, love this organization for many different reasons. So, we’ll see. For the most part, like I said, I haven’t really shifted my focus toward that just yet. But the next weeks, months will be mostly about gathering information and trying to make the best decision possible.”
There is, of course, time. The Heat have until Aug. 1 to extend a $4.7 million one-year qualifying offer to make Robinson a restricted free agent, an amount that is little more than a placeholder on the 2021-22 salary cap. Robinson then must wait until Aug. 3 to sign an offer sheet with an outside team or agree to terms with the Heat.
Robinson finished the regular season with 250 3-pointers, fourth most in the NBA, along the way reaching 500 career 3-pointers faster than any NBA player.
The money will be there if the 2020 offseason is any precedent when it comes to shooters, when Harris got $75 million over four years from the Brooklyn Nets, Bertans $80 million over five years from the Washington Wizards, Bogdanovic $72 million over four years from the Atlanta Hawks and Gallinari $61 million over three seasons from the Hawks.
“First and foremost, really happy for those guys,” Robinson said. “If anything, it kind of just indicated that there was a market for that skill set. So the focus really shifted to how can I really continue to showcase my abilities this year, show that I’m capable to help this team win and everything else from there will just kind of fall into place.”
What didn’t fall into place were Robinson’s shots at the end of the series against the Bucks. After shooting 7 of 13 on 3-pointers in the Heat’s series-opening overtime loss in Milwaukee, he went 3 of 14 from beyond the arc in the following three games, all blowout losses.
“I think, if anything, it was a good example of the areas I feel I can improve and will improve, my strength and kind of my body being a main emphasis,” he said. “Obviously, the game plan of theirs was to be super physical and just kind of take me out of rhythm.
“So that’s going to be a huge emphasis going forward. I’ve made improvement since I’ve been in the NBA, but there’s still plenty of improvements to be made in that regard.”
One element that the 6-foot-7, 215-pound guard can’t change is his age.
“The league is getting younger and younger,” he said. “I’m 27-years-old. I think for whatever reason the NBA works these days, 23-, 24-year-olds are getting written off as they’ve fully developed. I’m a strong believer that my best basketball is still ahead of me. And I really believe that and I think that I can continue to improve my game and expand on it.
“And it starts really in the offseason and coming back a different player next year. My biggest takeaway is there’s still a lot of growth still to be made.”
If nothing else, the durability cannot be questioned, with Robison the lone player on the Heat roster to appear in every game, regular season and playoffs.
“That’s not going to mean I’m always going to make shots or do this or that, but at least I’m going to be in position to be in position, if you will,” he said. “The fact that I was always available is something I’m proud of particularly.”