The Miami Heat have lost LeBron James to the Cavaliers and now that he has left, names like Luol Deng, Lance Stephenson, Trevor Ariza, Greg Monroe and Eric Bledsoe could be in the mix for Pat Riley and Dwyane Wade, as Miami is also likely losing Chris Bosh now and may settle back into the middle of the east as the Cavs rise and this is a huge shift in the NBA.
Some of this needs to be updated, but the James news just happened, so give us some time. James opted out of his contract earlier in the offseason and now he is with the Cavaliers after teams like the Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, LA Lakers and Phoenix Suns wanted to sign him.
According to ESPN.com reported Brian Windhorst, who knows LeBron better than anyone, Miami remains the front runner for his services and he writes that Bosh would guarantee his return to the Heat if LeBron also comes back. Riley has been looking at free agents and ESPN.com reports that the Heat have met with Luol Deng about signing with the team, but now all that is over and James is back in Cleveland and Bosh is likely going to Miami.
Deng is one of the top free agents on the market this offseason after being traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Deng is unlikely to sign with the Cavs, while the Bulls are targeting Carmelo Anthony before doing anything else major and that comes after Chicago and Deng could not come to a contract extension earlier in the season. Deng is meeting with other teams apart from the Miami Heat and according to ESPN.com, the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Lakers are also interested in signing him. Right now Miami has the most cap space in the league, but that is because the Big 3 are all free agents, but until James and the rest start to sign or give Riley their official contract demands/numbers, it will be hard for him to offer free agent contracts.
Parsons is an interesting option for Miami, as he is a restricted free agent and that means that the Rockets would have the chance to match whatever offer they give him. Parsons is just 25 years old and was a second round pick that turned out to have first round potential and he is coming off of his best overall season. Parsons averaged 16 points per game last season with five rebounds and four assists and he also shot over 45 percent from the floor and over 35 percent from three point range. The Rockets had the chance to keep Parsons on a cheap deal if they picked up his option, but that would have made him an unrestricted free agent.
GM Daryl Morey wants to try and keep Parsons and he felt being able to control his movement as an RFA would be better than getting a good deal for just one year only to lose him as an unrestricted free agent. The future of Parsons with the Rockets could depend on what Melo does and if Anthony opts to sign away from Houston, Parsons is nearly guaranteed to stay. Houston is likely to match any offer that comes Parsons's way and a situation could potentially play out like it did with Jeremy Lin when the Knicks couldn't match the offer Houston gave. Parsons has size and the ability to take his own shot at 6'9" and he has a very important place in the Rockets offense with Dwight Howard and James Harden.
