Will the Big three at Miami Heat stay together for next season?
When LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010, their aim was to win multiple championships.
During the last four years, they have definitely achieved quite a bit. After being defeated 4-2 by the Dallas Mavericks in their inaugural season, they bounced back to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals.
The Heat were trailing 2-3 in the 2013 NBA finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Ray Allen & Chris Bosh turned things around with some terrific display to clinch the title.
The recent 4-1 drubbing by the Spurs does raise a few questions about the future of the Big three.
Here are the possibilities:
End of Big 3 era in Miami?
Dwyane Wade played tremendously in the first three rounds of the playoffs, but when the going got tough, he couldn’t live up to the expectations. Chris Bosh has did not step up during the crucial games of the finals.
However, the chances of Wade opting out of his contract are extremely less given that Wade has been with this franchise right from June of 2003. Also, he possesses three championship rings at the age of 32 which won’t force him to give up loyalty for a ring as yet.
Barring few games, LeBron James has had to carry the Heat in a fashion strikingly similar to his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers, largely due to the entire team dealing with injuries and exhaustion of playing 86 plus playoff games over a span of four years.
Unless major changes are made to the roster ,the future seems bright neither for James nor the Heat. What Bosh and James would do with the June 30th player option deadline for this year on their contract will script the future for the Big three and what remains of the Miami Heat.
The only teams which are front runners to lure James are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Caveliers. With Kobe Bryant calling the shots in Los Angeles, James might choose to head back to Cleveland but it’s a decision he will take after thinking long and hard, given the on-court and off-court stability he has enjoyed in his years with the Heat.
Big 3 stick together
The Miami Heat might have lost 1-4 in the Finals, but by no means they are a bad team. They were just outplayed by an in-form Spurs.
The fact still remains that the best player on the planet LeBron James shares a dynamic friendship with Wade and Bosh . In addition, his trust in Pat Riley’s management and the owner Micky Arison has grown with each year. James has had a stable off-court life with his family like never before.
So the probability of the Big 3 sticking together in Miami is much higher than the possibility of their era coming to an end. However, just having the Big 3 together is not going to assure them a Finals berth, their current roster needs more than just tweaks to their game to be a legitimate contender next season.
Although the Big 3 have fared really well in dealing with the fatigue and exhaustion of making it to their fourth Finals in four years, their bench dealing with injuries could not emulate them. The team needs fresher and younger legs to make a successful championship run next season.
If rumours are to be believed, Miami Heat are looking to rope in Carmelo Anthony. It would require James, Wade, Bosh and also Anthony to take a big cut in their pay cheques to make it possible. Building on-court chemistry and attempting to win a championship will be an uphill task for the Heat.