The Miami Heat were able to get back under the luxury tax line by agreeing to a buyout with injured point guard Beno Udrih, something that does not sit well with some other teams. The Heat previously have terminated contracts with players who nonetheless later returned.
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And while Heat Nation may be thrilled, apparently the rest of the National Basketball Association is not, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Udrih had surgery to fix a foot injury last week, and is expected to need three months to recover. While Johnson will probably help the Heat out on the court, signing him barely put the Heat over the luxury tax threshold.
Heat General Manager Andy Elisburg declined comment when asked Sunday by the Sun Sentinel about a potential parting with Udrih, but indicated that a move was in the works to again get the Heat below the tax threshold, as had been the case after the February 19 National Basketball Association trading deadline. For competitive reasons – numerous teams were after Johnson when he became a free agent – and because nonpayers will see their payouts drop slightly as a result of the move, the Heat’s buyout with Udrih caused some complaining across the league on Monday.
All of this maneuvering seems highly suspect, and could even be perceived as dishonest, so it isn’t surprising that other National Basketball Association teams feel that the Heat should be penalized. But by helping the Heat out, he is building goodwill for the team to re-sign him as their third point guard. But it’s not like they are doing anything illegal; they’re just using a loophole to circumvent a complex and over-regulated salary structure.
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The Heat’s negotation with Udrih is an interesting bit of legalese that illustrates some of the arbitrariness of sports economics. Both sides get what they want.
