Miami Heat Rumors: Heat Shouldn't Waste Roster Spot on Baron Davis

With point guard Baron Davis getting cut from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the rumors of the Heat looking at Davis, they should make the smart move and not waste a roster spot by signing Davis.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears:

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Davis, 32, can be claimed off the NBA’s amnesty waivers by any team under the salary cap. The team with the highest bid is awarded Davis. If Davis clears waivers, he will become a free agent and can sign with any team. The Miami Heat and New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers – who are all over the salary cap – could benefit from signing a veteran point guard.

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Last year, Davis made $13 million while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Cavaliers. After being waived from Cleveland and no other teams picking the point guard up, it’s hard to see this Heat team being able to fit Davis under their salary cap. 

The Heat already have $68 million tied up in contracts to their active roster, with $47.5 million of that tied up to LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. It’s hard to imagine Miami would be able to convince Davis to take a pay-cut to play with the Heat past this year. 

Along with the salary cap issues, the Heat would be getting Davis after a back surgery that has him missing the first eight to 10 weeks of the season. That means the Heat would be seeing Davis play in his first game in February. 

How effective can a 32-year old Davis be, with a body that has seen over 800 games of NBA action during 15 season?

Miami should take a lesson from last year, when they added veteran point guard Mike Bibby. Bibby was brought in to take over for Mario Chalmers to lead this Heat team to an NBA championship. 

However, when the finals came around, Chalmers had more minutes coming off the bench. In the Heat’s final game of their season, Bibby didn’t play, while Chalmers started and played 39 minutes. 

The Heat have to find a way to fit all of their championship parts under the salary cap. Davis is not one of those parts, and for that reason, the Heat should stay away from the veteran point guard. 

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