LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have the framework for new contracts already in place with the Miami Heat, but the trio of stars is waiting to see how Pat Riley can fill out the rest of the roster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. After getting run off the floor in the NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs, James, Wade and Bosh are set to give Miami a window to reload its roster through free agency before officially committing to more seasons with the Heat.
Heat’s Big 3 give Pat Riley room to sign free agents around them
The Heat have a window to rebuild through free agency around LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
NBA Free Agency
Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng, Marcin Gortat, Trevor Ariza and Marvin Williams are all named as possible Heat targets by Wojnarowski. Miami will head into free agency with about $55 million in cap room after its three best players each exercised the opt-out clause in their contracts. The Heat have already made one new addition to the roster through the draft with point guard Shabazz Napier, a two-time national champion at UConn.
While it seems likely James, Wade and Bosh will all stay with the Heat, their commitment would appear to hinge on what other players Miami can sign. James reportedly wants a max contract, or something close to it, which would pay him around $20 million as a starting salary. Wade opted out of $41 million over the last two years of his contract, and is expected to sign a longer deal that pays him at least that much money. Bosh, who opted out of a $20.6 million salary with Miami for next season, would also seem to be in position to accept less money annually.
James has already said he will not take face-to-face meetings with other teams, but his agent, Rich Paul, will accept phone calls. If Riley can surround his talented core with extra help while remaining within the salary cap, the Heat should have James, Wade and Bosh officially back soon.
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