Official Miami Heat "DreamTeam" Thread: Miami Plan A Success

"...Dwayne Wade has done a very good job of convincing them not just about [Heat president] Pat Riley, not just about the fact that there are no [state] income taxes in the state of Florida but at the same time he's there in a tandem and that's what it's going to take."

Remember Game 3 of the '94 ECSFs between the Bulls and the Knicks? What was that about great coaches always being able to keep player egos in check? In a playoff game no less.

Wade optimistic Heat can land LeBron, Bosh

The starting gate of NBA free agency is about to burst open.

The Miami Heat just might win a triple crown.

A source close to Dwyane Wade said the Heat guard believes his team is poised to pull off a free-agency coup of landing himself, Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James and Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh.

However that same source, as well as a party inside the league, said Wade also plans to cover himself during the initial days of the free-agency negotiating period by scheduling interviews with the Bulls, New York Knicks and, in somewhat of a surprise, the Dallas Mavericks.
While the Knicks and Bulls, like the Heat, have the salary-cap space to sign multiple top-tier free agents, the Mavericks do not have available cap space this offseason and would need to complete a sign-and-trade agreement with the Heat to add Wade.

In addition, while there has been speculation that a James arrival in South Florida would mean Pat Riley again returning to coach the team, a party close to Wade indicated that James would be receptive to working with Erik Spoelstra, who is scheduled to begin his third season as Heat coach.

While free-agent negotiations are allowed to begin July 1, teams are not allowed to reach binding free-agent agreements until July 8.

Although speculation on a Wade-James-Bosh pairing has centered on each of the three taking less than maximum salaries to make the math work, one NBA team executive told the Sun Sentinel Monday that it was his belief that not all of the players involved are receptive to such an approach.

Regardless, in order to accommodate Wade and two other signings near their maximum free-agent salary of roughly $16.6 million, the Heat would have to trade second-year forward Michael Beasley. A league executive said he felt Riley, in his role as Heat president, would be able to find such a suitor on short notice, if he does not already have one lined up.

Counting a re-signed Wade, the Heat currently has roughly $27 million available in salary-cap space, with Beasley still on its 2010-11 payroll. There also is a chance of adjusting the buyout of forward James Jones, which could slightly boost the amount of available salary-cap space. Jones must be waived or traded by Wednesday for the non-buyout portion of his 2010-11 salary not to count against the salary cap.

abeer3 wrote:i love how we have about 5 separate lead pipe lock guarantees, each claiming a different destination for lebron.

Iceberg Slim wrote:C'mon Bruddha...

That was a whole different situation. Hell, the cops have guns, armor, nightsticks, and the biggest gang in the world. That doesn't stop fools from doing dumb things when anger is at the height of the emotions. And maybe that is your point. But I'm speaking of day-to-day ego's and perspective. Different story in my opinion.

Iceberg Slim wrote:If a guy like Phil Jackson can make a Shaq and Kobe win, a Riley can do the same. He's proved it already with his past success. And lastly, since when does Dwyane Wade have a huge ego, needs mass amounts of attention, and is a media wh0re that some are portraying him to be in this thread? Sure, amongst his low level talent team, he puffs his chest, struts a little, and engages the crowd because well...who else is going to do it? He's an entertainer. They paid good money to see him perform, lol. But amongst another great star, I don't see this ugly backlash of emotions coming from D-Wade. He didn't show that with the ultimate ego (Shaq). He didn't show it on the Redeem Team. And since he's been in the L, there has been no real whispers about it. So why speculate on something with no real foundation?

ShaqDieselLaker wrote:

Venti Quattro wrote:
That's $3,048,253 short of a third max deal, and this is using $0 as Jones' number.

These FAs gave up 600,000 simply by going into free agency instead of signing on with their own teams. Florida taxes are also much lower and 3mil is not a number these FAs couldn't make elsewhere. Also, Miami isn't done wheeling and dealing yet, I think. Should be interesting.

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade: free agent situation "is a no-brainer"

CHICAGO -- Dwyane Wade has given the Miami Heat his ``wish list'' of potential targets he wants team president Pat Riley to pursue when free agency opens at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Landing the services of LeBron James and either Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh in Miami would be the beginning of the kind of championship makeover Wade seeks this summer.

Wade stopped short of offering names of the marquee players he discussed with Riley in recent weeks. But the Heat's star guard repeatedly mentioned James and Bosh when he talked about players who instantly could push a team to title contention.

Venti Quattro wrote:

ShaqDieselLaker wrote:

Venti Quattro wrote:
That's $3,048,253 short of a third max deal, and this is using $0 as Jones' number.

These FAs gave up 600,000 simply by going into free agency instead of signing on with their own teams. Florida taxes are also much lower and 3mil is not a number these FAs couldn't make elsewhere. Also, Miami isn't done wheeling and dealing yet, I think. Should be interesting.

Giving up $2 million to $3 million in year one equals giving up about $15 million over the span of five years. Add the about $30 million they would be giving up by not re-signing with their current team...that's $45 million dollars! I'm sorry, but I just can't see any person give up that kind of income, especially an elite athlete entering the prime of his career.

For months, Wade has talked about the possibility of teaming with James and Bosh to rekindle the chemistry they shared during their gold medal run in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

After last week's NBA Draft, Riley made light of creating enough salary-cap space to sign three players at or near maximum-salary contracts. But last month, Riley said he could envision a scenario in which Wade and two other superstars would discuss the sacrifices needed to assemble a formidable trio.

``You can build your own team in a lot of different ways,'' said Riley, who is expected to meet with James in Ohio this week. ``I know what I'm going to do with the first four or five guys. It's a question of putting together scenarios and financial packages and things like that. If you can get some philanthropic free agents who want to play here -- the point is, these players can create their own teams.''

Wade said the possibility of building a dynasty on the fly factored into his decision to bypass an extension with the Heat and opt out of his contract.

``I don't need to sign an extension and kill some of that [salary] room,'' Wade said of the Heat's available salary-cap space. ``I want them to keep as much of that room as possible to sign some outstanding players. Until then, we can all sit back and read the speculation.''

GinoDB wrote:

Venti Quattro wrote:Stephen A. Smith is a joke. On his radio show he said that the Heat can sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh to max deals and then sign Dwayne Wade to a max deal and be allowed to go over the salary cap because he is their own free agent. It's just absurd that a basketball "insider" has no clue how the salary cap works.

Im ok with being proven wrong but Im pretty sure Stephen A is right on this one

schleprok wrote:I heard something about Miami trading Beasley which is the only way they could sign 3 max contract players.

mavoretto wrote:haha,imagine if the loose the finals like lakers' "All-star team" in 2004 :)))))

LeBron, Wade, Bosh talk of splitting Heat cash

The South Florida Sun Sentinel has learned that the three star free agents have gone as far as to acknowledge that it might not be possible for the Heat to clear the needed space to start each of the three at the $16.6 million maximum salary that they would be eligible for in the first year of new contracts.

According to the source, the three have agreed to consider to "split the money up," if need be.

Why LeBron Should Go To Miami

Here is why I'm rooting for LeBron to join Dwyane Wade (and Chris Bosh) in Miami:

Winning.

I have never bought into this whole "alpha dog" thing -- that LeBron and Wade couldn't get along on the same team because both need to be the alpha dog.

I think LeBron gets it: Only championships matter. Oh, sure, LeBron wants to be a billion-dollar global icon. But he knows that without rings, that will never happen. And the clearest path to rings is in Miami.

And I have never bought into this idea that somehow, a ring is worth less if you don't go through other superstars to get it. Last time I checked, the shorthand for NBA glory was "how many rings," not "oh, and who did you beat?"

What never made sense to me is how all of these conspicuously ring-less NBA legends -- Barkley, Ewing, basically everyone on the Dream Team except MJ, Pippen, Magic and Bird -- never joined up with MJ in Chicago, if only to win that ring.

But LeBron considers himself an evolutionary step beyond the legends of the 1980s and 1990s. And so the unprecedented cross-over is to discard mere rivalry -- Lakers-Celtics? So quarter-century ago -- and focus on absolute excellence. To seemingly subjugate his stardom while, obviously, taking it supernova.

For my money -- or for the Heat's money -- I want to see this unprecedented collection of talent. I want to see them rack up titles. I want the next decade to be boring with dynasticism, to shatter the myth of stars colliding. Let's try colluding.

I want the Heat to become a villain that every other fan can desperately roots against. I want mid-level free agents to be willing to take a "ring-finger discount" to join them. Let's push the yearly win total past 72 ... to 75 ... hell, to 80.

And if you were actually paying attention to my original response, I was replying to someone who suggested that Wade would gladly step aside to accept a #2 role alongside Lebron which is just plain asinine.

Wade would gladly step aside to accept a #2 role alongside Lebron which is just plain asinine. Why would he and why should he?

My point is that if LBJ goes to Miami, he's going to Wade's house. There really is no other way around it. You're coming to the very franchise that he's won a ring for and the building he's always played in. I fail to see how this isn't obvious to some people.

And if you were actually paying attention to my original response, I was replying to someone who suggested that Wade would gladly step aside to accept a #2 role alongside Lebron which is just plain asinine.

Wade would gladly step aside to accept a #2 role alongside Lebron which is just plain asinine. Why would he and why should he?

My point is that if LBJ goes to Miami, he's going to Wade's house. There really is no other way around it. You're coming to the very franchise that he's won a ring for and the building he's always played in. I fail to see how this isn't obvious to some people.

Dwyane Wade Not In Miami Over Weekend; Reps Refute Report Of Summit



Two of Dwyane Wade's representatives on Tuesday disputed an ESPN report that Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh held a mini-summit in Miami this past weekend to discuss their plans for free agency, which begins Thursday.

Wade's representatives said the report was untrue, and that Wade spent the weekend in Chicago. Bosh spent the weekend in Miami and told The Miami Herald that the Heat is in ``top contention'' to sign him.

The ESPN report said the three players met in Miami and that the Heat is the favorite to land James, but also that James left the meeting ``noncommittal.''

Radio broadcaster Stephen A. Smith reported Monday that James and Bosh will sign with the Heat, joining Wade. But James plans to meet with six teams -- including the Heat -- beginning Thursday in Akron, Ohio. Bosh said he will take multiple free agent visits and will not make a decision until they have been completed.

Wade is widely expected to sign again but reportedly will visit the Knicks and Nets anyway.