Heat trade machine
Heat trades here are checked against the modeled 2023 CBA rules — salary matching, apron limits, hard caps, and pick rules — starting from the current 2026 offseason data, not a blank slate. That includes the part most trade machines miss: the Heat are already hard-capped at $209.0M for the season (Tim Hardaway Jr. NT-MLE).
What the Heat can still do
Figures come from the current 2026 offseason feed; exceptions already spent in the feed stay spent.
Biggest Heat salaries, 2026-27
Common questions
Can the Heat use the mid-level exception?
Yes — $8.5M of the non-taxpayer MLE fits under their ceiling (hard-capped by Tim Hardaway Jr. NT-MLE).
Can the Heat aggregate salaries in a trade?
Yes — they're below the second apron, so they can combine outgoing contracts to match a bigger incoming salary.
Are the Heat hard-capped?
Yes — at the first apron ($209.0M) for the rest of the season, triggered by Tim Hardaway Jr. NT-MLE. Later moves are checked against that line.
Can the Heat trade a first-round pick?
Carefully — they already owe 4 future firsts, and the Stepien rule bars leaving consecutive future drafts uncovered. The board tracks the current obligations and names the pick that would break the rule.