NBA Free Agency: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh To South Beach
Strange. Labeling this offseason with a mere strange is like calling Mike Tyson anti-climatic.
Books are going to be written about this NBA summer. Movies will be made.
One day the latest “intel” has James, Wade, and Bosh teaming up to form the scariest squad the NBA has ever seen. The next, Lebron and Miami are two words not to be found on the same page.
Just a few days ago Wade was close to signing with Chicago. Yesterday, many thought Miami would remain as his NBA home.
Today Bosh’s name was thrown into the vicious free agency waters as a serious sign-and-trade candidate with Cleveland. By night fall, there were “sources” that Bosh wanted nothing to do with that sad sports town.
Is it just me or has the media—the experts—been doing nothing but chasing their tails around all week?
Craig Sager’s suits look more organized and thought out.
The latest is Lebron will be announcing his decision at 9:00 P.M on ESPN for a one hour extravaganza, headlined by Miley Cyrus singing the national anthem. (Okay the Miley part isn’t true, but it wouldn’t surprise me.)
At first I thought “The ego of this guy!”. But then, I dug deeper.
What if I told you that James, Bosh, and Wade were indeed forming the “We’re going to run through the league like Tiger Woods does women” team, that these last few weeks have been one huge hoax.
No I don’t have any serious, concrete “sources” and I don’t write for a major outlet like ESPN, but if you’ve learned anything from this whole circus of an offseason it’s what in the hell do they, or anyone else know?
I’m simply going to present some facts and you can decide for yourself whether this has any chance at validity.
The Facts
- James, Bosh, and Wade are all available.
- Pat Riley, judging from his past, is not the type of guy who is going to settle, let alone get shut out. He is a winner. He always has been and has the rings to prove it. He has made the moves necessary to put Miami in contention in the past. Bringing in Alonzo Mourning and then Shaquille O’Neal are evidence. He has the cajonas to pull off something of this magnitude.
- If Lebron were to leave Cleveland, there is no way he could have done it immediately after July 1. It would have to look like a really impossible decision. The guy has been locked into that city for his entire life. It would have to seem like it was a tough, drawn out decision or he probably would have been executed. And still might be.
- Ray Allen is still available? Huh, how does he have anything to do with this? Well, why is he still on the board? He could have re-signed with Boston after Pierce did. Could he be joining this potential trifecta to fill the need of clutch veteran shooter who will sacrifice dollars for another ring? Hmm.
- Lebron will be announcing his intentions on ESPN on Thursday. Why make such a drastic move if it’s purely to announce you’re staying in Cleveland? He could just be the most egotistical man on the planet, but we’ll see.
- Only the Heat could have been planning this for an extensive period of time, because let’s face it, only Riley didn’t make one single move over the past two years to sacrifice the cap room this summer.
- Riley gave away a first round pick, along with Daquan Cook’s body, to further increase cap room, which seemed somewhat minuscule at the time.
- Only in Miami can all three of these guys sign max contracts, pending the inevitable removal of the waste that is Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. Pat’s strength is not in the draft, outside of Wade of course.
- Stephen A. Smith, although he might be rough on the ears sometimes, is a well respected NBA journalist. He wouldn’t have reported what he did about Wade, Bosh, and James coming to South Beach if there wasn’t some sort of truth behind it.
- Pat Riley at the begininng of the offseason made it clear that he wouldn’t shut down the idea of returning to the sideline. Only he and Phil Jackson could manage the three egos of three superstars in their prime.
- A source has opened my eyes tonight.
Reasoning
Do any of these facts clearly lead to a three headed monster in Miami? Not quite, but collectively, there is substance.
Why are these guys holding out for so long?
Could it be that they want to hijack more than 98% of the spotlight that has already been thrust upon them, that they need to wait for every single remotely big name to get out of their way? I’m not buying.
For all we know these three have been planning this for years. They all signed their last contracts knowing that in the peak of their careers—in the summer of 2010—they would have the option to join forces.
I’m not saying this is done and in the books like Stephen A. Smith did a week ago. I’m a bit poorer than Smith, so I can’t afford to ruin my career before it even takes off.
What I am saying is don’t count anything out. Dream big.
Is The End Really Just The Beginning?
For all of you Heat fans who have been put through a roller-coaster ride through Satan’s backyard the past few days, remember sometimes you have to take a big step back before moving forward. No pain, no gain, right?
This Thursday might end up being routine and like any other day, but it just might be something more. The last two years of struggling just to make it into the playoffs may have been sacrificed for the bigger picture.
Thursday could be the greatest day in Miami Heat history, even more significant than the day the Heat hoisted their first NBA championship trophy back in 2006.
The Dream Team could be checking in a couple of years early. Location: Miami.
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