Day 1 Free agency tracker: Heat division rival gets stronger; Kevin Love stays with Heat

NBA free agency is here.

While NBA teams were allowed to begin negotiating with their own impending free agents on June 18 after the NBA Finals ended, free agents can begin negotiating with every team in the league on Sunday at 6 p.m. It’s worth noting that most free agent signings aren’t eligible to become official until the league’s moratorium is lifted at noon on July 6.

Free agency guide: Examining the Heat’s cap crunch, the Highsmith/Martin situation and more

Significant upgrades to the Heat’s roster aren’t expected to come in free agency because of Miami’s salary cap crunch. Those major upgrades would instead need to come through a trade, but the new Collective Bargaining Agreement paired with Miami’s salary-cap situation makes it challenging for the Heat to even pull off a trade.

What will happen when free agent negotiations open Sunday evening? Updates will be posted here throughout Day 1 of free agency.

11:55 p.m.: As midnight approaches, the first day of NBA free agency is almost over.

The only move involving the Heat on Sunday: Veteran big man Kevin Love committed to return to the Heat in free agency.

With Love committing to return to Miami, that leaves eight players from the Heat’s season-ending roster who remain free agents: Thomas Bryant (unrestricted free agent), Jamal Cain (unrestricted free agent), Haywood Highsmith (unrestricted free agent), Caleb Martin (unrestricted free agent), Patty Mills (unrestricted free agent), Cole Swider (restricted free agent), Alondes Williams (restricted free agent) and Delon Wright (unrestricted free agent).

8:45 p.m.: Another Eastern Conference contender appears to be on its way to making a significant upgrade to its roster. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers are considered “strong frontrunners” to sign nine-time All-Star forward Paul George in free agency.

Also, veteran point guard Chris Paul is off the board, as he’s reportedly signing a one-year deal worth $11 million to join the San Antonio Spurs in free agency.

7:30 p.m.: The Orlando Magic, the Heat’s most formidable Southeast Division rival, strengthened itself on Sunday night by agreeing to a three-year, $66 million deal with Denver free agent guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Year three is a player option, according to multiple reports.

Pope, considered a very good defender, averaged 10.1 points and shot 40.6 percent on threes last season.

Orlando was 29th in three-point attempts last season and 24th in three-point percentage, as The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor noted.

Pope is the first significant name to change teams in the first 90 minutes of free agency.

6:05 p.m.: As expected, veteran big man Kevin Love is returning to the Heat.

Love has agreed to re-sign with the Heat on a two-year contract worth about $8 million. There are no player or team options in the deal.

Love, who turns 36 in September, opted out of his $4 million player option to become a free agent before agreeing to a new deal to return to the Heat.

Love is preparing for his 17th NBA season.

Love established himself as a reliable backup center for the Heat last regular season after making five NBA All-Star Game appearances and being named to the All-NBA Second Team two times earlier in his career. He averaged 8.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 34.4 percent on 4.4 three-point attempts per game in a bench role for the Heat this past regular season.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania was the first to report the news.

5:50 p.m.: According to reports, the Golden State Warriors waived Chris Paul on Sunday and the 12-time All-Star point guard is now an unrestricted free agent.

What does the Heat have to offer Paul? A minimum contract or all/part of the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception.

But using any part of the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception would hard cap the Heat at the second apron for the entire 2024-25 NBA calendar.

Paul, 39, averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on threes last season with the Warriors.

5 p.m.: The Heat enters free agency with a current salary-cap breakdown for next season that includes Jimmy Butler ($48.8 million), Bam Adebayo ($34.8 million), Tyler Herro ($29 million), Terry Rozier ($24.9 million), Duncan Robinson ($19.4 million), Kel’el Ware ($4.2 million, contract not signed yet), Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($3.7 million), Josh Richardson ($3.1 million) and Nikola Jovic ($2.5 million).

Not including cap holds, the Heat has about $172.9 million committed to salaries for nine players, including the $2.5 million in “unlikely to be earned incentives” that raise Herro’s cap number for this upcoming season to $31.5 million.

The NBA announced the official salary cap numbers just an hour before the start of free-agent negotiations and they’re slightly lower than initially projected.

The salary cap for the 2024-25 season is set $140.6 million and the luxury tax threshold is set at $170.8 million, which means the Heat enters free agency already in luxury-tax territory.

With five or six roster spots still to fill for next season, the Heat is also on its way to crossing the punitive first apron that’s set at $178.1 million and not far from the dreaded second apron that’s set at $188.9 million. In other words, the Heat’s salary cap situation will limit who it can add and/or re-sign in free agency this summer, especially considering that Miami does not intend to pass the second apron unless it is to acquire an All-Star talent.

That leaves nine players from thee Heat’s season-ending roster who will be free agents this summer: Thomas Bryant (unrestricted free agent), Jamal Cain (unrestricted free agent), Haywood Highsmith (unrestricted free agent), Kevin Love (unrestricted free agent), Caleb Martin (unrestricted free agent), Patty Mills (unrestricted free agent), Cole Swider (restricted free agent), Alondes Williams (restricted free agent) and Delon Wright (unrestricted free agent).

These lists do not count Orlando Robinson and Pelle Larsson.

The Heat has until July 15 to guarantee Orlando Robinson’s full $2.1 million salary for this upcoming season. If the Heat decides not to guarantee Robinson’s salary, he will become an unrestricted free agent.

Larsson, the Heat’s second-round draft pick this year, is expected to sign a standard contract with the Heat. While it’s still unclear how the Heat will structure Larsson’s standard deal, his salary for next season will likely be between $1 million and $2 million. The Heat can also sign Larsson to a two-way contract, which does not count against the salary cap or toward the 15-man standard roster.

With the Heat entering free agency as a team on its way to surpassing the first apron, but expected to stay below the second apron, it currently only has the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception and minimum contracts to offer outside free agents this offseason.

But using any part of the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception would hard cap the Heat at the second apron for the entire 2024-25 NBA calendar.

The Heat can’t even acquire an outside free agent through a sign-and-trade because such a move hard caps a team at the first apron of $178.7 million — a line Miami will be over once it fills its roster.

While a trade may be the Heat’s only real path to make a significant addition to its roster this offseason, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will even make it challenging for Miami to pull off a trade during the 2024-25 NBA calendar.

Among the trade restrictions that the Heat faces as a team expected to be above the first apron: Miami can’t take back more money in a trade than it sends out, won’t be allowed to use a preexisting trade exception and can’t acquire a player through a sign-and-trade. But the Heat will still be able to aggregate salaries in a trade.