LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all have early termination options in the final years of their respective deals with the Heat, meaning that one or all of them can choose to opt out to either sign a longer term deal to stay in Miami, or test the waters with other teams as unrestricted free agents this summer.
Currently trailing three games to one in the NBA Finals, while only being able to hang with the surgical Spurs for very brief stretches, Miami is likely to face some difficult decisions this summer should any of the Big Three force the issue from a contract standpoint by demanding a re-up to stay.
The roster needs upgrades, both on the bench and possibly to one or more pieces in the starting lineup to truly come back next season as favorites to (presumably) recapture the crown. But the front office won’t have to wait too long to know where the roster stands, considering that at least LeBron’s decision won’t be affected by the result of the championship series.
From Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com:The Miami Heat would have to make history to come back from a 3-1 NBA Finals deficit, but the future of their best player doesn’t hinge on that happening.
The Heat’s success or failure in these Finals will not affect LeBron James’ decision on whether to opt out of his contract by the end of this month, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
There’s nothing more contained in the piece that indicates which way LeBron is leaning, so the question becomes, if the Finals loss won’t impact the decision of whether or not to opt out, what will?
It will likely be the conclusion reached by James and his teammates.
LeBron, Wade and Bosh came into this venture together, and after reaching the Finals in four consecutive seasons -- something no team has done since the Celtics did it back in the 1984-87 seasons -- they won’t blow it up just because San Antonio was better this time.
The most likely scenario would involve all three players opting out and signing longer-term deals to stay; the only issue, and it’s a serious one, will be at what price.
The Carmelo Anthony rumor is a complicated pipe dream, because too many superstars in their prime would need to take significantly reduced salaries in order to make that happen, and that still wouldn’t leave much money left over for critical, competent role players who could fill out the roster.
James may not need the result of the Finals to help make his decision. But the way the Heat will need to reshape the roster will play a significant role in how many millions over what number of years the team will need to offer in order to get the game’s best player to commit to stay.