LeBron James Joining Bosh and Wade in Miami
LeBron James’ free agency saga began long before he was ever a free agent. Teams have been shedding contracts and sacrificing victory for years in preparation for the 2010 off-season signing availabilities, the top of which has always been James. On Thursday, the wait was finally over. LeBron James announced that he would be joining the Miami Heat.
LeBron leaves the Cleveland Cavaliers after seven years that had proved fruitless in the championship department. In regards to his signing with the Heat, James told viewers during this personal special on ESPN: "I can't say it was always in my plans, because I never thought it was possible. But the things that the Miami Heat franchise have done, to free up cap space and be able to put themselves in a position this summer to have all three of us, it was hard to turn down. Those are two great players [Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh], two of the greatest players that we have in this game today."
James, Bosh, and Wade have played together previously for the U.S.A Olympic basketball team, where they won a gold medal together. The trio hopes to establish a dynasty in Miami. Of the three, only Wade has been part of a National Basketball Association title winning team, and Bosh and James are desperate for victory.
Bosh and Wade, who had announced that they were signing with Miami earlier in the week naturally rejoiced at James’ decision. Wade said: "There's magic in the number three," a reference to his jersey number.
After the announcement, Bosh immediately posted on Twitter: "It's madness out here! I'm on cloud 9 right now! This is like a dream come true to play with @dwadeofficial [Dwayne Wade] and @kingjames [LeBron James]!"
While Miami has not actually signed deals with the trio of stars, their announcements all but solidify that all three will be donning Heat jerseys next season. Regarding salary, James said: "Well, the numbers are not finalized. I think my agent, Leon Rose, will take care of that. But all three of us are ultimately going to take less money because we wanted to all play alongside each other, and we feel like we can be great together. And hopefully [Heat president] Pat [Riley] and the rest of those guys, [Heat owner] Micky [Arison], can bring some guys in to help us out, which we believe. "
As for Bosh, sources speculate that his former team, the Toronto Raptors, will finalize some sort of sign-and-deal by the end of the week. That way Bosh’s departure into free agency still provides benefit for the Raptors and Bosh is able to sign a six-year deal rather than a five-year deal.
Miami Heat President Pat Riley is also thrilled at the Heat’s newly bolstered roster. In an official statement Riley stated: "We are looking forward to the opportunity of building something that our fans in Miami will be proud of for a long, long time. The journey is just beginning."
As James announced during his press conference: "Winning is a huge thing." The Miami Heat now have what is possibly the most elite trio that has ever set foot on NBA hardwood. Boston used the concept of the ‘Big Three’ in Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen to end their championship drought and the Heat must do the same.
Anything other than immediate titles would be a disappointment; much like the free agent signing period has been to any team outside of Miami. As if Miami’s future didn’t seem bright enough, a tremendous amount of NBA teams are weakened by all the roster cutting they did with hopes to sign either of the three, so expect the Heat to dominate their way to the top of the Eastern Conference and the NBA in general.
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