Duncan Robinson’s contract with Heat not as bad as previously thought?

Aug 22, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Duncan Robinson (55) reacts before being fouled by Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo (4) during the first half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Duncan Robinson is getting a lot of dough to rack up DNPs this postseason. But it turns out that his contract may not be as bad as it originally seemed.

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday that the Heat sharpshooter Robinson has an interesting wrinkle in his contract. While Robinson’s deal is worth $90 million over five years in total, the final $10 million is only guaranteed if the Heat win a championship at any point over the life of Robinson’s contract.

Robinson also must meet four additional criteria during the title season to cash in on the last $10 million — (1) he has to play at least 70 regular season games, (2) he has to average at least 25 minutes per game during the regular season, (3) he has to play in at least 75 percent of the team’s playoff games, and (4) he has to average at least 25 minutes per game during the playoffs.

With the Heat in position to potentially win it all this season, Robinson actually met the first two of those criteria during the regular season. But he has been a healthy scratch for much of the playoffs and is only playing 11.5 minutes per game when he is on the floor, meaning that Robinson will likely miss on those criteria.

Of course, $16 million per year through 2025-26 is still nothing to sneeze at, especially for a role player. But Robinson’s camp seemed to be upset earlier this postseason over his DNPs. Now we have a better idea of exactly why.