The Right time to make a BIG Move

[PandaKidd]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--carmelo-anthony-leaning-toward-leaving-knicks--bulls--rockets-in-contention-161206919.html

seems like melo would agree with me and feels like besides the heat, the bulls and the rockets would give him the best opportunity to win.

I still think thats all fluff. I think ultimately he winds up with a team we havent thought of yet.

Bulls:
Rose is a HUGE question mark, why would he go to potentially AMARE 2.0 scenario again? If hes considering bulls hes got to bet on Rose not being the D Rose we all remember.
They would have to GUT their front court to get him. Reports saying Amnesty Boozer, trade Taj Gibson and they would have to cut or trade 1 other player.

Their fton court would be Noah at C , Melo at SF and who else? Who would their starting 5 be if ROse was DOA? That team doesnt look that good IMO.

ROckets:
Much more appealing. They could trade Lin and Asik back to NYK if the rumor about the NYK trading Chandler is true. Parson becomes a trade chip. The only problem with that is its the WEST. Why go to the WEST where its 100 times harder.

I still think he winds up with a Hawks type team or Miami (if one of the existing 3 leaves)

[Hawk Eye]

I think Melo is open to hearing all situations and options from all teams that give him a great chance of winning. I'm not buying the rumors that it's only narrowed down to the bulls, rockets, heat, and mavs. I agree and think there is a very real chance he ends up on a team that hasn't been named yet.

[theatlfan]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--carmelo-anthony-leaning-toward-leaving-knicks--bulls--rockets-in-contention-161206919.html

seems like melo would agree with me and feels like besides the heat, the bulls and the rockets would give him the best opportunity to win.

I still think thats all fluff. I think ultimately he winds up with a team we havent thought of yet.

Bulls:
Rose is a HUGE question mark, why would he go to potentially AMARE 2.0 scenario again? If hes considering bulls hes got to bet on Rose not being the D Rose we all remember.
They would have to GUT their front court to get him. Reports saying Amnesty Boozer, trade Taj Gibson and they would have to cut or trade 1 other player.

Their fton court would be Noah at C , Melo at SF and who else? Who would their starting 5 be if ROse was DOA? That team doesnt look that good IMO.

ROckets:
Much more appealing. They could trade Lin and Asik back to NYK if the rumor about the NYK trading Chandler is true. Parson becomes a trade chip. The only problem with that is its the WEST. Why go to the WEST where its 100 times harder.

I still think he winds up with a Hawks type team or Miami (if one of the existing 3 leaves)

Think you are underrating CHI as a team and may be overrating HOU's chances here.

CHI was a 4 seed in the East without Rose this year. If Melo is 6-8 W's better than Boozer, then landing Melo means that CHI becomes one of the East's elite and the IND/CHI battle will be for both the division crown and the HCA. This isn't even considering whatever they get out of Rose. They may have run out of gas in the playoffs while going against a young(ish) team finally getting it together, but they can be a scary team with another star... so forth 2 including the "addition" of Rose. Further, they might be able to free up all the $$ to sign Melo quite easily in amnestying Boozer and dumping Dunleavy and they have 2 1sts to help out here as well.

I don't see NYK taking back Asik and Lin without a whole bunch of compensation to do so. Since NYK will most likely have to pay the repeater tax, I've seen one estimate that has NYK paying $55M to take on Lin and Asik in a Melo SNT. They may not care about a few million when they are putting a championship contender on the floor, but tens of millions to put an average at best one on the court is a whole different ball game. IF HOU comes to NYK with a "Asik and Lin for Melo or we'll find another avenue to dump them" then NYK's answer would realistically be "find another way to dump them - get back with us if the offer changes". HOU will have to do some combination of the following: a) dump Asik and Lin (which won't be as easy as their posturing implies), b) put pieces like T Jones, Motie, and 1sts on the table to NYK, c) be willing to take back Felton's contract and/or d) push Parsons to agree to go to NYK.

Now, I still think HOU has to be the front runner here - just think they'll eventually collapse and give up on all their posturing on Asik and Lin over giving up on the Melo pursuit - but it's much closer than some are thinking. CHI isn't out of it be any stretch although I would agree that much of Melo's interest would revolve around Rose and his health. I'm sure there are several team lurking in the wings who think they could make a run as well although how realistic they may be is of some debate - including us.

[atlantabbq99]

^ Remember, Chicago is one of those places that players don't like to go. The last free agent that was willing to go to Chicago was Boozer and that is only because the Bulls overpaid for him and Chicago wasn't even Boozer's first choice.

[atlantabbq99]

Isn't anybody else worried that Carmelo is just Joe Johnson version 2.0

Carmelo like Joe is just empty stats and no wins.

I think Carmelo would work great in Budz's offense, but he is just not worth max.

[PandaKidd]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--carmelo-anthony-leaning-toward-leaving-knicks--bulls--rockets-in-contention-161206919.html

seems like melo would agree with me and feels like besides the heat, the bulls and the rockets would give him the best opportunity to win.

I still think thats all fluff. I think ultimately he winds up with a team we havent thought of yet.

Bulls:
Rose is a HUGE question mark, why would he go to potentially AMARE 2.0 scenario again? If hes considering bulls hes got to bet on Rose not being the D Rose we all remember.
They would have to GUT their front court to get him. Reports saying Amnesty Boozer, trade Taj Gibson and they would have to cut or trade 1 other player.

Their fton court would be Noah at C , Melo at SF and who else? Who would their starting 5 be if ROse was DOA? That team doesnt look that good IMO.

ROckets:
Much more appealing. They could trade Lin and Asik back to NYK if the rumor about the NYK trading Chandler is true. Parson becomes a trade chip. The only problem with that is its the WEST. Why go to the WEST where its 100 times harder.

I still think he winds up with a Hawks type team or Miami (if one of the existing 3 leaves)

Think you are underrating CHI as a team and may be overrating HOU's chances here.

CHI was a 4 seed in the East without Rose this year. If Melo is 6-8 W's better than Boozer, then landing Melo means that CHI becomes one of the East's elite and the IND/CHI battle will be for both the division crown and the HCA. This isn't even considering whatever they get out of Rose. They may have run out of gas in the playoffs while going against a young(ish) team finally getting it together, but they can be a scary team with another star... so forth 2 including the "addition" of Rose. Further, they might be able to free up all the $$ to sign Melo quite easily in amnestying Boozer and dumping Dunleavy and they have 2 1sts to help out here as well.

Lets look at the Bulls Roster:
Derrick Rose $18,862,876
Carlos Boozer $16,800,000
Joakim Noah $12,700,000
Taj Gibson $8,000,000
Mike Dunleavy $3,326,235
Jimmy Butler $2,008,748
Tony Snell $1,472,400
#16 draft pick $1,468,900
Mike James $1,448,490
Ronnie Brewer $1,310,286
Lou Amundson $1,310,286
#19 draft pick $1,266,000
Nikola Mirotic $1,075,300
Greg Smith $948,163
Rip Hamilton $333,333
TOTAL $72,331,017

if Boozer is released using the amnesty clause and Mirotic remains in Europe for another season, the team's total salary will be $54,455,717. The Bulls cap space at this point would be $8,744,283.

They would have to do a TON of moves to get Melo, and while I agree the Bulls can win the east, or come close, they will not have a team better than:
Clippers
Spurs
GSW
OKC

IMO ESPECIALLY if Rose is done for his career

http://www.chicagonow.com/bullsville/20 ... alary-cap/

[theatlfan]

^ Remember, Chicago is one of those places that players don't like to go. The last free agent that was willing to go to Chicago was Boozer and that is only because the Bulls overpaid for him and Chicago wasn't even Boozer's first choice.

I don't think Chicago is a place that "players don't like to go" as much as Reinsdorf is notoriously cheap and they don't chase FAs often. From my recollection, every year that CHI has gone into FA with big $$ to go fishing in FA, they've landed someone. Granted, Boozer was a rebound guy when Bosh, Lebron, and D-Wade shocked them (and everyone else who was gunning for one of them) by teaming up in MIA, but Ben Wallace was considered a good get at the time even though the signing blew up in their faces. CHI doesn't open it's doors often, but when they do, they typically get someone.

[theatlfan]

Lets look at the Bulls Roster:
Derrick Rose $18,862,876
Carlos Boozer $16,800,000
Joakim Noah $12,700,000
Taj Gibson $8,000,000
Mike Dunleavy $3,326,235
Jimmy Butler $2,008,748
Tony Snell $1,472,400
#16 draft pick $1,468,900
Mike James $1,448,490
Ronnie Brewer $1,310,286
Lou Amundson $1,310,286
#19 draft pick $1,266,000
Nikola Mirotic $1,075,300
Greg Smith $948,163
Rip Hamilton $333,333
TOTAL $72,331,017

if Boozer is released using the amnesty clause and Mirotic remains in Europe for another season, the team's total salary will be $54,455,717. The Bulls cap space at this point would be $8,744,283.

They would have to do a TON of moves to get Melo, and while I agree the Bulls can win the east, or come close, they will not have a team better than:
Clippers
Spurs
GSW
OKC

IMO ESPECIALLY if Rose is done for his career

http://www.chicagonow.com/bullsville/20 ... alary-cap/

Slightly different take than what's up on shamsports, but still imminently doable: just that they will have to dump Gibson along with Dunleavy to free up the room to offer Melo over $20M which isn't too far from his max (note this would come from the 2nd listing in the article - the one for max cap room). Combine 16 and 19 and trade up (as has already been rumored), and they're in the area where they may be able to offer Melo his max and/or keep Mirotic's cap hold so that they could possibly bring him over as well (although he'd have to agree to either the BAE or the Room MLE).

Not saying that CHI is willing to go shopping for Melo, but if they decide to, then yeah, they have the ammo to get him. Outside of Boozer who they can just amnesty, there isn't a single player on that team that I wouldn't trade pure cap space for and might even give a bauble or 2 to do it. So if they decide to put a "for sale want cap space" sign up on some of their player, then I'd imagine a lot of teams would look to bite.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Yup. All of these trade and FA reports and articles are just rumors. I'm not buying anything from any one out of the media at this point. Reports linking us to guys like Deng and Monroe when I would think that any active fan would know that it is a stretch to say that we are interested in either.

This is a huge decision for Melo and I would think that he would take his time with it. He's not going to just make a decision on day 1 without researching every option. I think we have a decent chance at Melo if Ferry and Bud are actually interested in him and they get a chance to sit down and talk with him.


After this beatdown, does Lebron decide to leave Miami when Wade and Bosh opt in to their deals? I will be shocked if Wade doesn't opt in to his deal after his terrible performance against the Spurs. He would be crazy to opt out and risk the chance of Miami lowballing him or Lebron still leaving.

[ATLHawksfan21]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--carmelo-anthony-leaning-toward-leaving-knicks--bulls--rockets-in-contention-161206919.html

seems like melo would agree with me and feels like besides the heat, the bulls and the rockets would give him the best opportunity to win.

I still think thats all fluff. I think ultimately he winds up with a team we havent thought of yet.

Bulls:
Rose is a HUGE question mark, why would he go to potentially AMARE 2.0 scenario again? If hes considering bulls hes got to bet on Rose not being the D Rose we all remember.
They would have to GUT their front court to get him. Reports saying Amnesty Boozer, trade Taj Gibson and they would have to cut or trade 1 other player.

Their fton court would be Noah at C , Melo at SF and who else? Who would their starting 5 be if ROse was DOA? That team doesnt look that good IMO.

ROckets:
Much more appealing. They could trade Lin and Asik back to NYK if the rumor about the NYK trading Chandler is true. Parson becomes a trade chip. The only problem with that is its the WEST. Why go to the WEST where its 100 times harder.

I still think he winds up with a Hawks type team or Miami (if one of the existing 3 leaves)

Think you are underrating CHI as a team and may be overrating HOU's chances here.

CHI was a 4 seed in the East without Rose this year. If Melo is 6-8 W's better than Boozer, then landing Melo means that CHI becomes one of the East's elite and the IND/CHI battle will be for both the division crown and the HCA. This isn't even considering whatever they get out of Rose. They may have run out of gas in the playoffs while going against a young(ish) team finally getting it together, but they can be a scary team with another star... so forth 2 including the "addition" of Rose. Further, they might be able to free up all the $$ to sign Melo quite easily in amnestying Boozer and dumping Dunleavy and they have 2 1sts to help out here as well.
.

Chicago may have finished the season with the 4th seed but they weren't the 4th best team and watching the Washington series made that obvious. Coach Thibs is famous for overworking his players in the regular season which results in an inflated regular season record and a lackluster playoff showing based on their seeding.

and if I'm Melo, there is no way that I put my hopes on Rose's knee after dealing with Amare's knees for the whole time he has been in NYK. He might as well stay in NYK if he is going to do that.

[PandaKidd]

After this beatdown, does Lebron decide to leave Miami when Wade and Bosh opt in to their deals? I will be shocked if Wade doesn't opt in to his deal after his terrible performance against the Spurs. He would be crazy to opt out and risk the chance of Miami lowballing him or Lebron still leaving.

Just my gut feeling............

Wade will restructure, they will offer him a better contract and he will take it. I just cant see him telling lebron "Screw you I want my money".

Wade can either make 40 million and be the guy who drove away Lebron.

Or

He can be the guy that rose above and sacrificed so the greatest player in the game can carry him to 6 rings.

I cannot see Lebron leaving. They can sign all 3 for 45 million (20/15/10). Wade HAS to be the Manu role going forward

[ATLHawksfan21]

After this beatdown, does Lebron decide to leave Miami when Wade and Bosh opt in to their deals? I will be shocked if Wade doesn't opt in to his deal after his terrible performance against the Spurs. He would be crazy to opt out and risk the chance of Miami lowballing him or Lebron still leaving.

Just my gut feeling............

Wade will restructure, they will offer him a better contract and he will take it. I just cant see him telling lebron "Screw you I want my money".

Wade can either make 40 million and be the guy who drove away Lebron.

Or

He can be the guy that rose above and sacrificed so the greatest player in the game can carry him to 6 rings.

I cannot see Lebron leaving. They can sign all 3 for 45 million (20/15/10). Wade HAS to be the Manu role going forward

You expect Wade to get 3 more rings? Sounds a bit far-fetched too me. Lebron is getting up there in game mileage and age and I don't think his game is going to age as gracefully as Duncan or Kobe. Lebron has less than 5 years of prime left in the tank in my opinion. He relies way too much on his athleticism and he doesn't have a consistent jumper.

Wade will have to really trust the Heat org. and Lebron if he chooses to opt out. It's clear that he has next to nothing left and is not going to be a key contributor to a title run from here on out. He has lost his athleticism and he has no jumpshot. Every move he makes now is an attempt to bait the defender in to leaving his feet so he can jump in to him for a foul. He turns it over every time the defender stays collected. I don't see any team offering him a large deal from here on out.

I will be stunned if he opts out and stunned once again if he takes as low as $10 million per year after opting out of $42 million.

[PandaKidd]

After this beatdown, does Lebron decide to leave Miami when Wade and Bosh opt in to their deals? I will be shocked if Wade doesn't opt in to his deal after his terrible performance against the Spurs. He would be crazy to opt out and risk the chance of Miami lowballing him or Lebron still leaving.

Just my gut feeling............

Wade will restructure, they will offer him a better contract and he will take it. I just cant see him telling lebron "Screw you I want my money".

Wade can either make 40 million and be the guy who drove away Lebron.

Or

He can be the guy that rose above and sacrificed so the greatest player in the game can carry him to 6 rings.

I cannot see Lebron leaving. They can sign all 3 for 45 million (20/15/10). Wade HAS to be the Manu role going forward

You expect Wade to get 3 more rings? Sounds a bit far-fetched too me. Lebron is getting up there in game mileage and age and I don't think his game is going to age as gracefully as Duncan or Kobe. Lebron has less than 5 years of prime left in the tank in my opinion. He relies way too much on his athleticism and he doesn't have a consistent jumper.

Wade will have to really trust the Heat org. and Lebron if he chooses to opt out. It's clear that he has next to nothing left and is not going to be a key contributor to a title run from here on out. He has lost his athleticism and he has no jumpshot. Every move he makes now is an attempt to bait the defender in to leaving his feet so he can jump in to him for a foul. He turns it over every time the defender stays collected. I don't see any team offering him a large deal from here on out.

I will be stunned if he opts out and stunned once again if he takes as low as $10 million per year after opting out of $42 million.

Nothing is guaranteed, but LBJ is not going west. Agreed?

Name me a better team, FO, marketing city than where he is at?
Cleveland? Please
Bulls? Never

He and Wade and Bosh are brothers. They know that Lebron is the king, hes the promised land. Wade will come to grips with where he is right now, hes not a 20 million a year player. Hes prob not a 10 million a year, but they can do that out of respect.

Wade decide to Opt in, LBJ is gone.

If Lebron stays in Miami, that team as currently constructed can get to the Finals the next 2 years minimum. They will lose half their team this year anyway so Miami IS going to change. The question is how much. If LBJ can convince Wade that legacy> Money then Miami will have money to sign some good players and get younger.

I think Riley and LBJ will convince Wade to take less, because hes had his max contract, LBJ hasnt. LBJ deserves 20 million a year right now, Wade had it already. Bosh isnt a 20 million a year player. His production is worth 15million or less.

[PandaKidd]

Dont look at the Finals, look at the season as a whole. Wade is still capable of having GOOD games and taking over. But he has to be treated like Duncan, 20-25 minutes per game, rest every other week, and Bosh needs to be the clear #2, they grab an athletic wing, Gortat, they are in business.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Just my gut feeling............

Wade will restructure, they will offer him a better contract and he will take it. I just cant see him telling lebron "Screw you I want my money".

Wade can either make 40 million and be the guy who drove away Lebron.

Or

He can be the guy that rose above and sacrificed so the greatest player in the game can carry him to 6 rings.

I cannot see Lebron leaving. They can sign all 3 for 45 million (20/15/10). Wade HAS to be the Manu role going forward

You expect Wade to get 3 more rings? Sounds a bit far-fetched too me. Lebron is getting up there in game mileage and age and I don't think his game is going to age as gracefully as Duncan or Kobe. Lebron has less than 5 years of prime left in the tank in my opinion. He relies way too much on his athleticism and he doesn't have a consistent jumper.

Wade will have to really trust the Heat org. and Lebron if he chooses to opt out. It's clear that he has next to nothing left and is not going to be a key contributor to a title run from here on out. He has lost his athleticism and he has no jumpshot. Every move he makes now is an attempt to bait the defender in to leaving his feet so he can jump in to him for a foul. He turns it over every time the defender stays collected. I don't see any team offering him a large deal from here on out.

I will be stunned if he opts out and stunned once again if he takes as low as $10 million per year after opting out of $42 million.

Nothing is guaranteed, but LBJ is not going west. Agreed?

Name me a better team, FO, marketing city than where he is at?
Cleveland? Please
Bulls? Never

He and Wade and Bosh are brothers. They know that Lebron is the king, hes the promised land. Wade will come to grips with where he is right now, hes not a 20 million a year player. Hes prob not a 10 million a year, but they can do that out of respect.

Wade decide to Opt in, LBJ is gone.

If Lebron stays in Miami, that team as currently constructed can get to the Finals the next 2 years minimum. They will lose half their team this year anyway so Miami IS going to change. The question is how much. If LBJ can convince Wade that legacy> Money then Miami will have money to sign some good players and get younger.

I think Riley and LBJ will convince Wade to take less, because hes had his max contract, LBJ hasnt. LBJ deserves 20 million a year right now, Wade had it already. Bosh isnt a 20 million a year player. His production is worth 15million or less.

It could be done but you are asking a lot out of Bosh and Wade. Bosh has already sacrificed enough. Maybe he decides that he wants to go after a paycheck and a chance to prove that he can still be the guy.

Bosh can get a max deal if he tests the market. His production is depleted because he was forced to alter his style of play to fit Lebron because Lebron only knows one way to play. This has turned Bosh in to a jumpshooter, but Bosh can still dominate the game when given the opportunity. Lebron and Wade should spend some time in the gym developing their shot so Bosh can do his normal thing in the post instead of being camped by the 3 pt line all game. Just look at some of his performances with Lebron out of the lineup this season for proof.

Lebron missed 3 games this season and Bosh dominated in 2 and was cold in 1.

12/28 against Portland. Bosh scores 37 pts with 10 rebs on 15/26 FG 3/3 from 3. He hit the game winning 3 at the buzzer

2/23 against Chicago. Bosh puts up 28 and 10 on 10/23 FG and 4/9 from 3 in a Heat victory of 14 pts.

3/19 Boston. Bosh was ice cold in this one with only 6 pts and 11 rebs. 3/11 FG 0/4 from 3. Heat lose by 5.

[ATLHawksfan21]

Dont look at the Finals, look at the season as a whole. Wade is still capable of having GOOD games and taking over. But he has to be treated like Duncan, 20-25 minutes per game, rest every other week, and Bosh needs to be the clear #2, they grab an athletic wing, Gortat, they are in business.

an athletic wing and Gortat? There is a salary cap which will limit this. Gortat is getting at least 10 million this eyar and that's lowballing it. Besides, Lebron needs players who provide spacing. He doesn't do well when players are in the paint taking away his lanes.

[ATLHawksfan21]

I do agree that it is highly unlikely that he goes West. If him and Melo have even half of a brain, they stay in the East.

I actually think we would be the perfect fit for him if he did leave Miami. He gets to stay in the East and in warm weather. He has 2 all-star caliber big men who are solid defenders and can hit the outside shot which leaves him room to operate inside. Add in the best catch-and-shoot 3 pt shooter in the league and a PG who can get in to the lane at will and shot over 38% from 3 in three different months last season.

Miami would collapse when he left. We almost beat Indy without Horford this season. Add Horford and Bron and its not even a competition. That team would be a lock for the Finals assuming they stay healthy.

[PandaKidd]

Dont look at the Finals, look at the season as a whole. Wade is still capable of having GOOD games and taking over. But he has to be treated like Duncan, 20-25 minutes per game, rest every other week, and Bosh needs to be the clear #2, they grab an athletic wing, Gortat, they are in business.

an athletic wing and Gortat? There is a salary cap which will limit this. Gortat is getting at least 10 million this eyar and that's lowballing it. Besides, Lebron needs players who provide spacing. He doesn't do well when players are in the paint taking away his lanes.

Lebron and Riley convince people tot ake less, its what they do.

LBJ-20 million
Bosh-15 million
Wade- 10 million

45 million, that leaves them with what, up to 77 million tax threshold to sign players?

They cant find someone like Gortat/Blatche etc? Hell Kris Humphries is URFA he could replace Birdman.

Theres lots of options, but it all starts with Bosh and Wade accepting they have to get paid market value. Bosh is an All Star, I really think the way he plays, Wade playing badly hurts him. I think if they convince wade to take the bench role, Bosh will be a better player, especially with another good big next to him.

They will retool. Thats just my gut feeling

[ATLHawksfan21]

Dont look at the Finals, look at the season as a whole. Wade is still capable of having GOOD games and taking over. But he has to be treated like Duncan, 20-25 minutes per game, rest every other week, and Bosh needs to be the clear #2, they grab an athletic wing, Gortat, they are in business.

an athletic wing and Gortat? There is a salary cap which will limit this. Gortat is getting at least 10 million this eyar and that's lowballing it. Besides, Lebron needs players who provide spacing. He doesn't do well when players are in the paint taking away his lanes.

Lebron and Riley convince people tot ake less, its what they do.

LBJ-20 million
Bosh-15 million
Wade- 10 million

45 million, that leaves them with what, up to 77 million tax threshold to sign players?

They cant find someone like Gortat/Blatche etc? Hell Kris Humphries is URFA he could replace Birdman.

Theres lots of options, but it all starts with Bosh and Wade accepting they have to get paid market value. Bosh is an All Star, I really think the way he plays, Wade playing badly hurts him. I think if they convince wade to take the bench role, Bosh will be a better player, especially with another good big next to him.

They will retool. Thats just my gut feeling

I may be wrong on this, but I thought you cannot sign a player for more than the MLE once you go over the initial cap which is projected to be 63 million next season.

This offseason is going to be the most interesting offseason that I can remember. Loaded draft. What does the Big 3 decide to do. Where does Melo go. Do Love or Kyrie get traded. Damn I cant wait.

[PandaKidd]

an athletic wing and Gortat? There is a salary cap which will limit this. Gortat is getting at least 10 million this eyar and that's lowballing it. Besides, Lebron needs players who provide spacing. He doesn't do well when players are in the paint taking away his lanes.

Lebron and Riley convince people tot ake less, its what they do.

LBJ-20 million
Bosh-15 million
Wade- 10 million

45 million, that leaves them with what, up to 77 million tax threshold to sign players?

They cant find someone like Gortat/Blatche etc? Hell Kris Humphries is URFA he could replace Birdman.

Theres lots of options, but it all starts with Bosh and Wade accepting they have to get paid market value. Bosh is an All Star, I really think the way he plays, Wade playing badly hurts him. I think if they convince wade to take the bench role, Bosh will be a better player, especially with another good big next to him.

They will retool. Thats just my gut feeling

I may be wrong on this, but I thought you cannot sign a player for more than the MLE once you go over the initial cap which is projected to be 63 million next season.

That still leaves them with 18 million to sign 1 GOOD player and then -2 or 3 role players right?

They could convince someone like Gortat or Blatche to take less because they could actually win a title.

The current mid-level exception allows teams that have no cap space to spend a maximum of $5M for four years as long as the team did not pay the luxury tax in the previous season. If the team is over the cap and did pay the luxury tax the previous season, the mid-level exception is only $3M for 3 years. If the team has cap space, they may spend $2.5M for 2 years. These amounts are set in stone for the 2012-13 season, but will go up 3% each subsequent season. Prior to the current CBA, the mid-level exception amount was pegged to the average salary of players on teams over the salary cap.

I think with 18 million they could sign 1 really good player (not a superstar) and 2-3 good players. Then use the MLE to fill it out. Hell they could convince Bosh and LBJ to take even less IMO if they REALLY want rings.