MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The margins from the outset have been razor thin.

Now there only is limbo when it comes to Terry Rozier and where he stands — or doesn’t stand — on the Miami Heat payroll in the wake of his NBA leave following Thursday’s federal gambling arrest.

For months, the Heat operated seemingly with as much focus on the NBA luxury tax as the roster construction itself.

There was the July trade with the Detroit Pistons to get off Duncan Robinson’s higher salary for Simone Fontecchio’s lower salary.

There was the August trade with the Brooklyn Nets that offloaded the salary of Haywood Highsmith at the cost of also sending along a second-round draft pick.

There was the September decision to offer nothing more than a non-guaranteed, minimum-scale contract to Precious Achiuwa when a big man was needed to bolster the power rotation. Achiuwa then was waived before any of his salary hit the books.

From there, the Heat opened their regular season with 14 players under standard contract, one below the NBA regular-season maximum, to duck under the luxury tax.

All the while, there were options with Rozier, from a buyout to a trade to waiving him to gain enough savings under the tax to sign a replacement player.

Now, there only is uncertainty, with Rozier placed on indefinite NBA leave and his salary frozen on the Heat books, at the moment unable to be excised, unable to be included in a trade as a salary match.

Should the NBA deem Rozier to have violated the league’s workplace rules, his salary would be wiped from the Heat books at that point.

But also consider that unlike the federal investigation, the NBA’s probe did not turn up evidence of any league violations by Rozier, as he played on.

Additional payroll relief provided by the potential voiding of Rozier’s contract would not put the Heat in position to utilize cap space, but it would move them about $28 million below the luxury tax.

That would allow the Heat to utilize the full $14.1 mid-level exception or the $16.8 million trade exception realized from the Robinson trade.

But there also would be another play, one that would turn the tables on the Heat’s recent tendency of offloading draft picks to save against the tax. With that extra space below the tax, the Heat could take on salaries accompanied by sweeteners in the form of draft picks to help others duck the tax.

Essentially, the opposite of the Highsmith deal and so many others when the Heat tossed aside draft collateral in the name of cap management.

An argument also could be made that keeping Rozier on the books with an expiring salary could make an in-season blockbuster trade easier to facilitate under guidelines that would require matching salaries.

The most likely Heat roster outcome when/if Rozier’s contract were to be voided would be the addition of a pair of minimum-scale supporting players.

That could be as simple as re-signing Alec Burks and a big man to bolster the power rotation, with available options, including Achiuwa or recently released NBA veteran Alex Len.

For now, the Heat operate with 13 players under standard contract (technically 14 with Rozier in his legal/contract limbo).

With the Heat operating below the league limit of 15 players under standard contract, they therefore are limited to having their two-way players active for no more than a combined 90 games this season. However, should the Heat move to the 15-player limit on the standard roster, then each of the players on two-way contracts would be eligible to make up to 50 appearances on the game-night active list.

Should the NBA change Rozier’s status from being on “leave” to being suspended, then the Heat would be reimbursed against the cap 50% of Rozier’s salary for each day being off the roster. That, in turn, potentially could immediately allow them to add two minimum-scale salaries to the roster while remaining under the tax.

Among available unsigned NBA free agents are: Burks, Achiuwa, Len, Cody Martin, Garrison Matthews, Monte Morris, Dennis Smith, K.J. Martin, DeAndre Jordan, Cory Joseph, Ben Simmons, Cameron Payne, Jaden Springer, Kobe Bufkin, Charles Bassey, Ricky Council IV, Delon Wright. Delano Blanton, Mo Bamba, Kessler Edwards, MarJon Beauchamp and Sean McDermott.

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