by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Who knows? Maybe the three biggest NBA free agents this summer met up in Miami over the weekend to discuss the new season of “True Blood.” No one can say for sure.
According to ESPN and their sources, however, Bosh, Wade and James got together and finally had that Free Agent Summit.
It was a much smaller affair than what was initially dreamed up a few weeks ago, and more importantly, this particular meeting had a very specific goal: the triumvirate reportedly wanted to explore the terrifying possibility of playing together in South Beach next season.
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.
Everyone seems to have a theory these days: 48 hours ago, Chicago was a “done deal”, some now claim there’s friction within the LeBron camp, others believe Bosh is a goner from Toronto, and this is apparently all part of Pat Riley’s evil and ingenious plan.
The truth is that no one truly knows what’s going to happen once the clock strikes midnight on July 1st, not even the players themselves.
Just hang on to your hats, it’s going to be a wild ride.
UPDATE: Wade’s people are now saying there was no meeting in Miami: “Dwyane Wade’s representatives on Tuesday disputed an ESPN report that Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh held a mini-summit in Miami this past weekend to discuss their plans for free agency, which begins Thursday. Henry Thomas, who is Wade’s agent, said the report was untrue and that Wade spent the weekend in Chicago. Bosh spent the weekend in Miami and told The Miami Herald that the Heat is in ‘top contention’ to sign him. But the players are believed to have discussed among themselves the possibility of all three playing for the Heat.”
Please adjust your lives accordingly.
