Miami Heat Rumors: Mike Miller's Injury Will End His Time on Miami's Dream Team

The Heat didn't need another reason to release Mike Miller, but they just got one. 

As Tom Haberstroh of ESPN is reporting, Miller underwent hernia surgery on Tuesday. The surgery means that he'll miss the start of the NBA season.

And as Haberstroh speculated, it effectively ends his career in Miami. 

The Heat were granted a nice reprieve with the collective bargaining agreement's amnesty clause. They can release Miller and not have it impact the salary cap. That's $5.4 million cleared from this season. 

With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Heat don't need to replace Miller's spot on the floor. No, they have that. 

But this is money that they can now spend on a point guard or a better inside player.

As Ken Berger of CBSSports reported, the Heat are one team interested in acquiring Nene's services. All of a sudden, this move looks a little more possible.

With Wade, James, Chris Bosh and Nene in the starting lineup, the Heat would be obvious favorites to win it all for the next few years.

Even if a player of Nene's caliber isn't a realistic goal for Miami, releasing Miller would can help them bring in depth. That's something that the Heat could absolutely lose.

From Miller's perspective, it's unfortunate. But he's the kind of player that will land on his feet. His days in Miami are likely over, but his days in the NBA aren't.

But for the Heat, this timing of this injury is perfect. It sounds cold to use the words "injury" and "perfect" in the same sentence, but it really applies here. 

The amnesty clause and surgery really create the perfect storm for the Heat. If they are wise with the extra money that releasing Miller would give them, it's hard to imagine anyone else winning the championship this year.