The NBA world was abuzz on Thursday after it was reported the Miami Heat would attempt to sign Carmelo Anthony in free agency along with giving new contracts to the Big Three. Could the rich really just get richer? Signing Anthony would keep Miami in playoff contention for several more years if the team could pull it off financially. While LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are good friend with the New York Knicks star, they deny any recruiting is happening.
ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported that the Heat were hoping to get the remaining players on the roster to take pay cuts in order to bring on Anthony for the long term. After a struggling series with the San Antonio Spurs, it is clear that the team could use a player with Anthony's scoring ability to take pressure off players like James. Will it happen? It certainly is a long shot, but doable. James told media prior to Game 4 that he has not even begun to think about Anthony heading to South Beach.
"Obviously Melo has his own decision to make. Obviously it hasn't crossed my mind at this point in the season," James said via ESPN.com.
Getting Anthony is easier said than done. Miami would first have to convince James, Wade and Bosh to take pay cuts once again. That might not be too hard considering their outside ventures are certainly helping with the cash flow. After that, both Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem would have to take pay cuts on their player options for next season. Shane Battier is retiring while Mario Chalmers hits free agency. Ray Allen could be retiring at the sam time. Anthony would also have to accept something less than a max contract. That is a lot of money players would have to leave on the table, but the possibility of having four of the top 15 players in the NBA on one roster might make it worth it.
Chris Bosh is saying the same thing as James as far as recruiting is concerned. Obviously, everyone wants to know what the Big Three will do come the end of the season, but the center is making it clear that no one is recruiting free agents down to South Beach. When asked about Anthony's future with the Heat, Bosh simply said, "I think that's very, very unlikely."
If James and Anthony are going to team up, it will not be with the Los Angeles Lakers. According to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders is reporting that financially, the Lakers cannot take on both players with Steve Nash's contract and Kobe Bryant's new deal. Sure having Bryant, Anthony and James on the roster would be ideal after the Lakers recent collapse, but financially it cannot happen.