The Miami Heat are in trouble ... and it's their own fault

The Miami Heat have played themselves into a stalemate. Instead of walking away from the chess board, they'll be forced to run through the motions for the next three to four seasons while they await the chance to reset their pieces.

The decision to ink Josh Richardson to a four-year, $42-million extension is just the latest in a growing list of bizarre moves Pat Reilly's organization has made this summer, cementing its position among the NBA's middle class for years to come. A team which prides itself on being able to orchestrate blockbuster trades and wrangle face-to-face meetings with most big-ticket free agents has crippled its ability to add talent that moves the needle toward title contention.

This late in the game, the Heat had little choice but to commit to Richardson, who averaged 10.2 points, 2.6 assists, and shot 33 percent from the field last year. That's solid production for the No. 40 pick from 2015, but not eight-figure production - not since the league corrected course after 2016's offseason cash-tsunami.

With their team salary a lock to be over the cap for years to come, the Heat's ability to maintain depth comes down to re-signing its own players, using various signing exceptions, and the entry draft.

To recap, here's where Miami's cap sheer stands for the next four seasons:

* Richardson's yearly figures estimated

(Figures courtesy: Spotrac)

On balance, the Heat have two well-paid, borderline All-Stars, and five players that range from solid bench depth to capable sixth men. In the superteam era, that won't cut it.

A svelte James Johnson was dynamic on both ends last season, but will turn 31 years old in February and was a journeyman before his breakout 2016-17 campaign. Waiters was heading in a similar direction, but posted solid scoring numbers in 46 appearances last season, and at 25, still has the bulk of his career ahead of him. Olynyk wasn't particularly adept in any one area through four seasons with the Celtics, but shot 40.5 percent on three 3-point attempts per game in 2015-16, hinting at his potential as a floor-spacer, if not an athletic finisher or rim protector. Each of these players can fill a role on a good team, but banking on the sum of the parts keeping pace with the Eastern Conference's established heavyweights is a risky gamble.

At lower cap holds or shorter contract durations, each of the Heat's recently signed players would likely find a suitor at the trade deadline for their services. It's hard to envision a team with aspirations of taking down the Golden State Warriors giving up meaningful assets - blue-chip players, future draft picks, a highly-paid starter - for the right to pay James Johnson at a relatively cumbersome cap hold through his age-33 season.

It puts an inordinate amount of pressure on the quartet of Tyler Johnson, Richardson, soon-to-be-third-year Justise Winslow, and 2017 first-round pick Bam Adebayo, who are the only young players in the fold that appear to have untapped potential - the sort of unknown trajectories that could elevate the Heat from being a perennial sixth-seed in a weak conference, to a top-three seed. If the next half decade of your franchise hinges on the rapid development of mildly-touted youngsters, you're in trouble.

Exacerbating the inflexibility of the roster, Miami owns just two of their first-round picks in the next four drafts. If their 2018 picks fall outside the top seven picks, it will go to the Suns; if it doesn't convey in 2018, the Heat's 2019 pick will go to the Suns. Either way, the Heat's 2021 pick will also go to Phoenix, at which point, the player they received for those two crucial picks - Dragic - may be long gone from the team.

If LeBron James leaves the Cavaliers for the Western Conference next summer, as some teams (including Cleveland) appear to be anticipating, is Miami's ceiling really higher than the other conference rivals who opted to double-down on their murky cap situations? Is Dragic, Whiteside, and depth better than the Celtics' new-look trio of Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford, who are primed to be the best team in the East in the near future - and are still in a position to add a fourth star-caliber player. What about the Wizards' trio of John Wall, Bradley Beal, and Otto Porter? Or Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Serge Ibaka in Toronto?

No, short of convincing disgruntled Knicks star Carmelo Anthony to waive his no-trade clause, or pulling off the sort of trade that landed Paul George - likely a one-season rental - in Oklahoma City, Miami's floor and ceiling are locked in for years to come. They have minimal incentive to tank, no means of acquiring essential blue-chip talent, and little opportunity to significantly advance their quest for another championship.

By the time the Warriors' dynasty has been broken up and LeBron James' physical ability has declined, the Sixers, Lakers, Bucks - maybe even the Kings, Knicks, and Magic - should be realizing their full potential, possibly touting both cap flexibility and long-term star talent. Meanwhile, the Heat will remain in no-man's-land, chugging along on the proverbial "treadmill of mediocrity."

Pat Reilly and coach Erik Spoelstra are some of the best in the business at what they do, but they've played themselves into a corner this time. It'd be a surprise if both are still in South Beach to see the end results of their overly optimistic strategy.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)