LeBron James and Dwyane Wade opted out of their contracts with the Miami Heat and Chris Bosh is expected to do the same. Heat president Pat Riley’s reported plan is to have everyone opt-out and re-sign for less money so they can upgrade the roster. The plan looks to be working out as the Big 3 are reportedly coming together to discuss their contract options.
via ESPN:
After agreeing to all opt out of their contracts together, Miami Heat stars LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have been discussing financial terms of new contracts among each other, sources told ESPN.com.
The talks between the three players is the strongest indication yet that James plans to re-sign with the Heat after he becomes a free agent on Tuesday. Unlike in 2010 when all three took nearly identical contracts, the discussions this time have included the possibility that James would draw the highest salary among the three, sources said.
The Heat’s upcoming record $55 million in available cap space is believed to have been a major part of the discussion when Wade, James and Bosh held a meeting last week in Miami.
These are their options according to ESPN:
James, Bosh and Wade could all re-sign and take raises to the maximum salary starting at $22 million each, which would carry the Heat into the luxury tax and significantly limit their spending options this season and in the following seasons.
They could all take significant pay cuts, perhaps in excess of $5 million per year each, that would take the Heat below the salary cap and leave enough room to chase a major free agent like point guard Kyle Lowry. Though the Heat may ultimately investigate the possibility ofCarmelo Anthony, that option has not been seriously discussed among the parties yet, sources said.
The last option is that the Heat stars could all take moderate pay cuts and stagger their salaries at different levels. This would likely not leave significant cap space but it would take the Heat below the luxury tax line and enable them up to use the full mid-level exception of $5.3 million and the biannual exception of $2 million to bring in multiple role players.
With James saying the team needs to improve “at every position,” it seems possible the third option may end up being the most likely, especially after the Heat players all took pay cuts when they came to Miami four years ago.
