[ESPN] James, Wade, & Bosh met over the weekend in Miami

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5338472

Source: Trio talk free agency scenarios
By Chris Broussard and Marc Stein
ESPN.com

A modified version of the ballyhooed free-agent summit that was initially suggested and then downplayed by Dwyane Wade has indeed taken place, ESPN.com has learned.

Sources close to the situation said Monday night that three of the biggest names in basketball -- Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James -- met over the weekend in Miami to seriously discuss their futures, with a focus on the increasingly plausible possibility of those three teaming up with Wade's Heat.

Yet sources with knowledge of the meeting stressed to ESPN.com that James, while clearly intrigued by the possibility of forming a star-studded Miami trio with Wade and Bosh, has not yet committed to leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers for South Beach.

One source did label Miami as the new frontrunner to land James in a package deal with Bosh and a re-signed Wade but also cautioned that James was "non-committal" with the start of free agency fast approaching.

Sources said James remains committed to fielding free-agent pitches from several teams when free agency officially opens Thursday at 12:01 a.m. ET, with the Chicago Bulls continuing to rank as a highly appealing destination and a return to Cleveland still figuring prominently in his thinking and with the Dallas Mavericks looming as an intriguing outsider.

Earlier Monday, Fox Sports Radio's Stephen A. Smith reported on his morning radio show and via his Twitter feed that James and Bosh have committed to joining Wade in Miami. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper, in a report on its website Monday afternoon, quoted a source close to Wade as saying that the 2006 NBA Finals MVP "believes his team is poised to pull off a free-agency coup" by signing James and Bosh and re-signing Wade.

Unless Miami trades away former No. 2 overall pick Michael Beasley to a team with salary-cap space, so it can avoid taking salary back, Heat president Pat Riley will not be able to offer the estimated 2010-11 maximum salary of $16.5 million to all three Team USA stars.

But sources told ESPN.com that James, Wade and Bosh all expressed confidence at the meeting that contractual complexities to make this ambitious triple signing work can be worked out, although it was not immediately clear if all three players would receive an equal amount or if one or two would receive the max. Another variable is whether Bosh would be willing to sign with the Heat outright or if he wants to hold out for a sign-and-trade.

Toronto Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo acknowledged Monday for the first time in a radio interview with the Fan590 in Toronto that "it's becoming more and more clear" that the prospect of Bosh re-signing with the Raptors is "not going to happen." But sources close to the situation have maintained for months that Bosh was likely to work with the Raptors on a sign-and-trade if he ultimately decided to leave in free agency, thereby ensuring that Toronto doesn't lose him without compensation and enabling Bosh to get an extra year on his contract potentially worth as much as $30 million.

Sources insisted, meanwhile, that other scenarios were discussed at the weekend meeting apart from the Miami plan. One source said James' admiration for Bulls legend Michael Jordan is such that he is determined to hear Chicago's pitch later this week, keeping alive the possibility that both James and Bosh could still wind up together with the Bulls.

In that scenario, sources said, James and Bosh would join Derrick Rose and Jakim Noah in Chicago, while Wade would hope to be joined in Miami by close friend Carlos Boozer, who was not at the meeting.

Sources said James, furthermore, has not ruled out staying with the Cavaliers. Although Cleveland does not have the financial flexibility or the trade assets to import Bosh or Wade and enhance its chances of retaining this summer's face of free agency, James is a proud Ohioan who is said to be still wrestling with the notion of leaving his home state, no matter how enticing the possibilities are in Miami and Chicago.

The Sun-Sentinel reported that Wade is also exploring his options by planning free-agent sitdowns in coming days with the Bulls and Mavericks. ESPN.com had previously reported that Wade and Bosh are scheduled to be in New York on Friday for separate recruiting visits with the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

It was not immediately clear, as details of the Miami option emerged, whether Riley intends to stay in his front-office role and let coach Erik Spoelstra return for his third season or if, say, James urges the 65-year-old to return to the bench for a third stint coaching the Heat.

 

If James considers the mavs, he also should put the rockets on his list.