After boldly securing Goran Dragic at the trade deadline, the post-LeBron James Heat had the makings of a strong core for years to come. But acquiring and re-signing the Slovenian star also created an incredibly complicated 2015 offseason thanks to an unusual salary cap situation — mostly thanks to the breakout of Hassan Whiteside and the unsettled contract negotiations of Dwyane Wade. Whiteside was a revelation for the Heat last year, becoming a quality starter at the league’s shallowest position on a bargain-basement deal. He drew criticism at times for his maturity, which had kept him out of the league for two years after being drafted 33rd overall in 2010 by the Kings but playing only 19 games in two seasons. But with the Heat, the 7-footer averaged 11.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 23.8 minutes per game to become the low-priced center of the future. Heat president Pat Riley did a great job adding a second cheap season to the mercurial big man’s contract, but having Whiteside for only two years has created issues for next offseason that have come to define this one. The NBA has soft cap, which means teams can go over that limit using certain exceptions. Bird rights (named after Larry Bird) are the most common because they allow franchises to go over the cap to re-sign their own free agents. Bird rights are the reason the Heat were able to keep Dragic on a five-year, $90 million contract and are allowed to give Dwyane Wade his own big deal. - See more at: http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/sto...-agency?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
