The Dream Team? Will LeBron James Join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami?

For the few fans that have not heard yet, ESPN has broken the news that Chris Bosh will join Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat. Bosh is expected to earn anywhere between $96 to $125 million as part of either a five or six year contract. The situation depends on whether Bosh outright signs with the Heat or is part of a trade with the Raptors. Bosh had career highs last season averaging 24 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. At the moment, Michael Beasley and Mario Chambers are the only other members of the Heat with contracts, although Miami drafted three players in June.

The big question now is whether or not it is feasible for Miami to sign the most coveted free agent this off season, LeBron James. The main issue is the fact that Miami will likely only have $10-$12 million left after finalizing the deals with Bosh and Wade.

One of the only feasible ways to clear cap space is to trade away Beasley and Chambers, along with future draft picks, to a team with cap space. Even in this ideal situation, it is almost inevitable that at least two of these three NBA superstars will have to take a pay cut.

While Bosh, Wade, and James have all said that their main priority for the 2010-2011 season is to be on a roster with the potential to win championships, it is hard to imagine any of these guys willing to get the short end of the stick when it comes to salary.

The other part of the equation is, of course, what is happening with all of James’s other potential suitors.

If one has not done so already, it is definitely time to count the Los Angeles Clippers out of the LeBron James sweepstakes. They have about $16.83 million in free cap space, but they have little to offer James besides money. Chris Kaman led the team last year with 18.5 ppg and 9.3 rebounds and was selected to the All-Star team, which is pretty impressive considering how poor the squad was.However, the Clippers have little else to offer talent wise outside of the promising young shooting guard Eric Gordon.

While James was courteous enough to meet with all suitors, it does not seem like the Clippers have the coaching, leadership, or star power the King is looking for to entice him into signing a contract.

Many New York Knicks fans were jumping for joy when the team signed the 2003 Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudemire to a five year, $99.7 million contract. This certainly boosts the team significantly, as the remaining roster is largely young and unproven, with the exception of David Lee. However, this signing basically means Lee is as good as gone as the Knicks have still not resigned him and would not want to waste a penny of their remaining $17 million cap space.

The Knicks have not been championship contenders since the Patrick Ewing days, and have not actually won it all since 1973.The appeal for James here is the New York market he would inherit with his contract.The additional money he could make himself, and the state in general, through merchandising deals would be tremendous. Additionally, this would give James VIP access to some of the hottest restaurants, clubs, and lounges in the world.

Nevertheless, if LeBron is really about playing and winning basketball, it is hard to argue that the Knicks are truly a good fit for him.

Finally, not too far away, the New Jersey Nets have also been hot on the trail of the reigning NBA MVP. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has had nothing but good things to say about James since the offseason began. He also has remained confident in his stance that the Nets will sign James, likely with one more prominent All-Star, and will win a championship as soon as two or three seasons down the line.

Also, do not forget that the Nets just drafted highly regarded rookie Derrick Favors, who is expected to be an instant All-Star in the NBA. Nevertheless, it is going to be hard to recruit one of the best players in the NBA after undergoing an extremely embarrassing 12 win season.

Additionally, no one on the roster currently offers James any reassurance beyond potential, which is certainly a problem in itself. The worst thing that could have happened to the Nets, arguably, was that Kris Humphries just opted in for the 2010-2011 season. This leaves the Nets just shy of being able to offer two maximum contracts, meaning that it is basically impossible to recruit an All-Star to sweeten the pot for James.

While the Nets may be championship contenders in just a few seasons, it is not probable that James will want to be part of what is essentially a rebuilding project next season.

Next up, remember when Chris Bosh and LeBron James to the Chicago Bulls was essentially a done deal?

The potential line up of Bosh, James, 2009 Rookie of the Year Derek Rose, and Joakim Noah gave a lot of folks the sentiment of “just give ‘em the rings now.” However, with Bosh confirmed to be heading to Miami, nothing is really certain now. The duo of Rose and James alone would certainly be one of the most formidable in the NBA, but so would James and Stoudemire or James and Wade.

 While we can argue for days which of the three would have the most impact, the point is that without Bosh going to the Bulls, they do not hold that much leverage over the Knicks or Heat. Keep in mind the Bulls have just slightly less more cap space than the Nets, so there is no advantage there, either.

Then the X factor that solely exists in Chicago lays on one man’s legacy: Michael Jordan. Would LeBron’s legacy be cheapened if he won multiple championships with the same franchise as “His Airness”? While that topic is a whole article in itself, the bottom line is that it could hurt James’s credibility, which is why it may give LeBron second thoughts.

Finally, don't think the Cavaliers are just willing to let James get up and leave, but what do they have going in their favor besides the loyalty factor?James has given them seven rock solid seasons, only to come up empty handed in the playoffs every time. With the Cavs making no off season acquisitions, it is hard to believe James is willing to go back and try again with the same squad.

What are my final thoughts?

The Bulls are the front runners, the Heat are second, and the Knicks are third. You can count everyone else out of the running.

That is my opinion and I am sticking to it folks. We will all find out tomorrow night at nine.