CWoodson

June 29th, 2010 at 2:52 PM ^

/Agreed, at least for basketball

I'm mostly shocked at ESPN sticking to their report all 3 met in Miami this weekend when LeBron was in NYC all weekend.  Maybe it was a late Sunday thing, but other reports put Wade in Chicago last weekend, so I'm not sure there's any reason to buy this.

A Case of Blue

June 29th, 2010 at 7:13 PM ^

I live down here, and it's absurd.  I didn't grow up in South Florida and I'm not particularly a fan of any of the teams, but I like to go to a game every now and then, especially if one of my hometown teams is playing.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a Marlins-Brewers game on a Thursday.  Now, the Crew aren't the biggest draw in MLB, but still.  1) We paid $25 apiece to sit eight rows behind home.  2) Yes, it rained for a bit in the beginning, but there were 2,500 fans at the stadium if there were any.  My parents turned on the TV to see and said that when they went to a Wednesday night game in MKE in late May (vs. the Pirates, I think), there were 30,000 people. Miami has about 8x as many people as the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Same goes for Heat games, surprisingly few people.  If my team were playing the Dolphins, I might go, but I don't see myself spending money on going to a game there otherwise.

On the one hand, I think all of the NFL's griping about Sun Life as an inadequate venue for the Super Bowl is pretty silly, it's not that bad.  But on the other hand, why keep awarding the premier football event to such a bad sports city?  (Because it's warm and has great nightlife, is why.)

Koyote

June 29th, 2010 at 3:08 PM ^

Doesn't the NBA have a cap? If so, I highly doubt this will happen.

Then again the Celtics managed to pull it off (albiet not quite as high profile of a scale)

Beavis

June 29th, 2010 at 3:23 PM ^

Article on ESPN today said the heat would need to shed Beasley and still find several more million ($3 or $4 mil I think) to get 3 max contracts under the cap. 

Likely, if this thing in Miami were to happen - the players would have to take a slight pay cut to get it to work. 

That, combined with Stephen A. Smith reporting it, is what has me saying "no chance". 

LeBron is a Bull and this is all propoganda by his camp to try to make it seem not as obvious. 

CWoodson

June 29th, 2010 at 3:28 PM ^

This cap information is right - they can't sign three max guys.  At least two would have to take less money, which a) they won't do so they can go be second and third bananas to D-Wade, and b) would screw everybody else in the player's association because it affects the "average salary" calculation:

http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q24

Beavis

June 29th, 2010 at 3:32 PM ^

Actually, it might be possible - or else I have a feeling these NBA people would have said so and this would not even be a rumor right now. 

I think Miami would literally have to clean house, then sign those three guys to max deals and every other player would have to play at the league minimum.

If this is NOT the case, and they would have to take less money - I hope they enjoy lawsuits.  Because clearly these players have tried to deny the meeting took place in Miami (due to collusion issues).  While, Steiny Mo and Broussard of ESPN clearly state their sources are legit and they did meet (you can even follow Bosh's twitter and it's pretty clear he was flying somewhere on Friday and doing something important over the weekend).

number63

June 29th, 2010 at 3:45 PM ^

First and foremost, thanks for taking the time to research the relevant information in order for this scenario to happen.

In regards to the cap, the projected value for the upcoming season is $56.1 million, so getting quality players to fill the remainder of the roster would be difficult. However, don't forget about the cap exceptions (mid-level, bi-annual, etc.) that allow a team to go over the cap. Also, I'm not that familiar with how the luxury tax works, but if the team is OK with paying the tax, couldn't they pursue more talented (and more expensive) players?

Beavis

June 29th, 2010 at 3:52 PM ^

You bring up some good points.  Perhaps the best was brought up by someone below - it is based on bird years.

If an NBA player has enough "bird years" with a team (I think it's three or five) - they can sign that player, go over the cap, and pay the luxury tax.  Miami could do this with Wade. 

I do not know if they have to sign both Lebron and Bosh before Wade to make this work, but it is an option.  The owner would clearly have to be down with the luxury tax (who wouldn't?), and they will likely try to get as close as possible to the salary cap regardless.

Frank Drebin

June 29th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^

Chris Broussard from ESPN was saying that this will work if all three take somewhere around 14.7 mil per year or so. Still not sure if they would do it, but Wade and LeBron have revenue from Nike, cell phones, etc, so their contracts might not be as big of a deal. Bosh on the other hand may look to strike it rich now while he can as he is not nearly as marketable.

ken725

June 29th, 2010 at 3:19 PM ^

I don't really follow NBA too much, but what about cap space?  Did they just unload lots of players to get enough space to sign Lebron and Bosh and resign Wade?

Beavis

June 29th, 2010 at 3:29 PM ^

They'd have to move Beasley in order to make it close to possible.  There would still be a few more mil they would have to move around with Beasley gone, as well. 

Basically, it's going to be hard (impossible?) for Miami to offer 3 max contracts.

Chad Ford per Twitter:

Miami has $43.7 million to sign free agents. Need $49.5 million to sign Wade, Bosh and & Bron to max. Losing Beasley ($4.9) gets them close

They would have to shed $0.9 M or so if Beasley is traded.  Don't know where that $0.9 M can come from - I think Chalmers is the only other guy on the roster - he'd have to be told to go away I guess.

Yinka Double Dare

June 29th, 2010 at 3:32 PM ^

The Jay-Z Brooklyn Nyets apparently unloaded Yi on Washington (who is now collecting the cap-clearing unloads) to be completed July 8 like the Hinrich deal.  Puts the Nets on similar footing as the Bulls for cap space.

The downside?  They're still playing in New Jersey for the next few years.  Although a LeBron acquisition would undoubtedly kickstart the Brooklyn development

MGOARMY

June 29th, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^

I don't think it's that far of a stretch they wouldn't all demand to be max players. I could see Bosh getting the max salary because he doesn't have any major endorsment deals that I know of, then Lebron and Wade signing for less to make it work. With the money Lebron and Wade make off of endorsments I really don't think 2-3 million would be a deal breaker. They would make that money up in no time with bigger endorsment deals after they start winning multiple championships.  Lebron makes more money from endorsments then he does from playing basketball as it is.

samsoccer7

June 29th, 2010 at 3:47 PM ^

It's my understanding that Miami can go over the cap to resign Wade since he was their player before.  It's just that Miami would have to pay the luxury tax, which they'd welcome if they could get all 3 guys.  Not sure how true this is, but I know I read it somewhere, sometime.

Plegerize

June 29th, 2010 at 3:49 PM ^

I feel like this is turning into Conference Expansion 2.0

All these rumors are out about what's going to happen and who's going where. I guess we'll find out in a few short days what's happening.

I think the Heat have a lot going for them in terms of D-Wade, Pat Riley, and a lot of cap space for potential players. I just doubt that Lebron is going to make his choice South Beach.

My name ... is Tim

June 29th, 2010 at 7:01 PM ^

I went to the NBA Draft for four straight years. I can't explain to you the amount of fun you can have heckling the ESPN guys, particularly Stephen A. Smith. My favorite though, was Mike Tirico who once got so upset by my friend mocking his constant requests to have his face powdered that he just started screaming, "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, MAN? WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?" until he was ejected from MSG. He deserved it, but man it was funny.

CraigMack

June 29th, 2010 at 4:16 PM ^

considered better, but the last time this happen the Pistons killed a star studded team.  That consisted of Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone. 

Beavis

June 29th, 2010 at 4:37 PM ^

Agreed 100%.

I think the argument comes down to (at least for LeBron and perhaps, Bosh), what is better:

Miami: Chalmers, Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Cheap Center X

or

Chicago: DRose, Cheap SG X, LeBron, Bosh, Noah

I am not a Wade fan, and it is hard to bet against him (clearly gives it his all, proven winner), but I'd be hard pressed not to assume the Chicago team wins 7 out of 10 times in an impossible pick-up game versus the Miami team.