Heat’s Wade, Bosh opt out
THE MIAMI HEAT will now have the opportunity to pursue Carmelo Anthony after Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem all decided on Saturday to opt out of their respective contracts.
With LeBron James having already announced his decision to opt out, the Heat has an NBA-record $55 million in salary cap room. Heat president Pat Riley will try to re-sign all four free agents, with Bosh and Wade expected to take pay cuts to allow the club to rebuild the roster.
During the NBA Finals, there was a report that James was trying to figure out a way for Anthony, who will become a free agent on Tuesday, to join the Heat.
“That’s a pipe dream,” Riley told reporters last week without mentioning the name of a potentially targeted player. “But everyone thought 2010 was a pipe dream. That’s not where we’re headed.”
A more plausible scenario is that the Heat will attempt to sign Toronto free agent point guard Kyle Lowry and perhaps Washington free agent center Marcin Gortat.
In order for Anthony to join Miami he would likely have to take a significant pay cut, with a starting salary of approximately $14 million. Anthony, however, continues to say his preference is to re-sign with the Knicks. Phil Jackson, the Knicks’ president, reiterated publicly on Thursday that he hopes Anthony will be true to his word and take less money in order to give the Knicks the flexibility to sign free agents in the future.
Taking less is apparently the plan for the Heat. Wade opted out of a deal that would have paid him $41.8 million over the next two years. Bosh will opt out of two years and $42.6 million and Haslem will not exercise his player option of $4.6 million. Bosh has not officially informed the Heat of his decision and intends to do so on Monday.
“Dwyane has been the cornerstone of our organization for over a decade, and we hope he remains a part of the Heat family for life,” Riley said in a statement. “Udonis has been the heartbeat of this team for 11 years. He has sacrificed countless times to make this organization successful, and he is the epitome of what this organization stands for. We look forward to meeting with Dwyane and Udonis and their agent in the coming days to discuss our future together.”
Anthony has not finalized plans to visit any prospective teams but it is likely that he will schedule trips to Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles to see the Lakers. If Anthony were to leave the Knicks, he would likely remain in the Eastern Conference since the path to winning a title is less challenging.
Jackson is hoping that he can make several moves to convince Anthony that the organization is making strides toward building a contender. The trade to acquire Jose Calderon upgraded the point guard position, but Jackson knows there is more work to be done. There was a report that Jackson will try to sign Pau Gasol but it would mean Gasol having to take a $14 million-$15 million pay cut.
Gasol was unhappy last season with the Lakers but most of his frustration was directed at coach Mike D’Antoni, who was subsequently fired. The Lakers maintain that they have every intention of re-signing Gasol.