We've got a new Crockett and Tubbs, Miami, and thank goodness for that. After a staggeringly long and frenzied free agency process, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have announced they'll both sign with the Heat.
"I'm back in Miami, man," Wade officially announced live on ESPN. "For now, back in 'Wade' County."
"I'm joining Mr. Wade," Bosh said, grinning.
And the two might just bring a friend. After making their decision yesterday, Wade and Bosh shared a post-midnight phone call with LeBron James, according to Yahoo, in which they informed him they'd be signing with Miami.
And, of course, they requested his presence. But though LeBron remained mum on his own plans, Adrian Wojnarowski writes his decision is down to Miami and Cleveland.
“They think they’ve got a real chance to pull this off with LeBron,” a league source told Yahoo of Wade and Bosh, who reportedly agreed to go ahead and commit to the Heat in hopes it would help bump LBJ south.
But neither was inclined to make a big deal about it during their big moment.
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"I'm going to let him do his thing," Bosh said. "He's got enough people in his ear...Good luck, LeBron!"
Shortly after his TV appearance, Wade issued a YouTube message to fans, thanking them for "the opportunity to go through this process and make the best decision for me and the Wade family."
"At the end of the day," he said, "my heart led me back here, to Miami, to the place that drafted me and gave me a shot and an opportunity...I want to build on that legacy."
The pair can sign their deals tomorrow, the first chance they have to do so under NBA rules, or as soon as the terms are hammered out. Both players said they were "not opposed" to taking less than max salary dollars to bring the right mix of talent to Miami, and therefore they will likely wait to hear from LeBron.
"This decision is about winning," Wade said. "It's about winning multiple championships."
But whatever that mix is, according to MV3, it will be Erik Spoeltra's team.
"Erik Spoelstra's our coach," Wade said, dismissing speculation that free agents might demand Pat Riley return to the floor. "He's 100% our coach...We're looking forward to seeing him grow."
For the Heat, rebuilding has only just begun. Even with Wade and Bosh the team have, at most, four players on the roster, and just as many holes. Much depends on if Bosh signs with the Heat outright for five years and $96 million, or if Toronto has agreed to a sign-and-trade with Miami that will give Bosh six years and $125 million. If Miami does get a King, they will likely have to fill out the roster mostly with minimum contract players.
Either way Bosh, Toronto's all-time leader in points, rebounds, blocks, double doubles, and free throws made and taken, should come in pretty handy no matter who else is on the floor.
We'll find out for sure tomorrow night if LeBron plans to form a super-star triumvirate. In perhaps the only move left to make free agency even more annoying, ESPN's "independent sources" say LBJ is set to announce his decision on ESPN in an hour-long special Thursday night at 9.
So along with thanking Wade for not abandoning us to abject roster poverty -- and for recruiting rejecting his own hometown -- we can thank him for not being that disgustingly arrogant, too.
