There are so many questions circulating around the Miami Heat – especially now that LeBron James has opted out of his contract and has decided to become a free agent. How will the wheel spin and where will the Heat land when this process is all over?
The first thing to point out about LeBron’s decision to opt out is that it doesn’t increase the chances of LeBron’s departure – at least not meaningfully so. LeBron wants more flexibility with his contract situation and if Miami President Pat Riley is willing to spend serious money on bench players and other members of the supporting cast, LeBron is very likely to stick around for more seasons with the Heat. If the Heat can’t rework deals for other players, then things will be complicated. That doesn’t look like it will be a problem as Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have opted out of their contracts as well, which has added to the Heat’s level of maneuvering room. The Heat now have an NBA record $56 M in cap space. Although that’s great, James might not want to rebuild an entire roster from scratch. The cupboard – in some ways – is completely bare and that might lead to him having second thoughts. Expect him to consider the situations that exist in Los Angeles with the Clippers or in Houston with the Rockets. The Chicago Bulls might also be an option for him. That trio of teams would immediately become a Championship contender with him in the lineup and he’d clearly get more him from their casts than he will in Miami.
What’s less of a likelihood as far as the Heat are concerned is that Carmelo Anthony or a similarly high-priced free agent will come to Miami. That’s just not going to happen. The Heat will have enough of a problem retaining LeBron, Wade and Bosh for another go-around. There’s not enough space or resources in which to make a play for Melo. Miami has to think about getting role players – as they did in the Draft with Shabazz Napier – and little else in terms of new additions to the roster. The Heat can’t consider Melo a reasonable possibility.
