The Miami Heat are working on signing free agents to keep LeBron James in South Beach with the Big 3 and names like Chandler Parsons, Luol Deng, Lance Stephenson, Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe are potential targets in free agency for Pat Riley to help sign back James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Miami is coming into things after losing to the Spurs in the finals and they looked bad in that series and now James is on the free agent market and while he is likely to sign back with Miami, right now he is listening to other offers. According to ESPN.com, James wants max money and the Miami Heat can give that to him, but that may mean pay cuts for Wade and Bosh as well as the other free agent players they are hoping to sign. Riley will have to convince some players to take less money to come to Miami and James may have to do the same if he wants free agents signed there.
Stephenson is likely too expensive after he rejected an offer from the Pacers for over $40 million and his reps said that he is in no rush to sign a deal. Miami could try and swoop in later if interest is not as robust as they think, but it could be awkward for James and Stephenson to play together after the way he acted in the east finals against the Heat. Bledsoe could be a nice fit alongside James, but he is a restricted free agent and the Suns have said they are willing to match offers for him. The team has Goran Dragic and could try trading him to free up some space to sign Bledsoe and other players and they could do that after drafting Tyler Ennis.
Greg Monroe is a restricted free agent as well and reports have him as potential trade bait for the Detroit Pistons. The team has Josh Smith and Andre Drummond and there is a good chance one of those names could be gone this year and if Monroe stays, one of those two likely will be traded. Monroe could get out of the Miami price range and that could be a factor for him and Deng as well. Deng is one of the top free agents on the market and according to ESPN.com he has already met with Riley for what were called "preliminary" talks.
Deng is a top target for teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Heat. Parsons is a restricted free agent and he could be an option if the Rockets sign Carmelo Anthony, as they may not be able to keep him and Melo. Parsons had an option declined this year to make him an RFA now rather than an unrestricted free agent later and he is a target for numerous teams, including the Lakers, Mavericks and Boston Celtics along with the Rockets and Heat.
Parsons had his best season in the league, putting up 16 points per game and shooting over 46 percent from the floor. Parsons is a solid enough defender and is a strong offensive player and at just 25 years old there is still room for him to grow as a player. The Heat have to make some moves this offseason after the way they played against the Spurs and those free agent are solid pickups.
