Miami Heat forward P.J. Tucker will decline his $7.4 million player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent, Shams Charania reports. Tucker is coming off of a stellar season in Miami in which he helped lead one of the NBA’s best defenses and shot 41.5 percent from behind the arc. He is expected to be highly coveted by teams in championship contention, according to Charania.
From a purely financial perspective, this is the correct decision on Tucker’s part. Had he picked up his player option, he would have received a raise of just $350,000 next season. However, as a non-Bird free agent, he is eligible for a raise of up to 20 percent on his $7 million salary from last season. That means that the Heat can pay him up to $8.4 million without using any of their cap exceptions. He has certainly earned that much, so even if he doesn’t get any extra years tacked onto his deal, he’s likely scored himself a raise.
P.J. Tucker deciding to opt out was 100% expected. This does not mean he’s leaving Miami, source reiterated to AP. It’s likely Heat will fight to keep him, and Tucker made clear to teammates when season ended that he would like to be back.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 20, 2022
This isn’t a huge surprise and it doesn’t mean that P.J. Tucker’s time with the Heat is done.
The Heat will try to bring Tucker back and can offer him a raise from his $7.4 million player option despite not holding his Bird rights. https://t.co/pnzypMq0aT
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) June 20, 2022