Bosh, Lebron, and Wade on the Heat in 2010? It's possible ...

[Admin]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=boshmiamiscenario-091113&addata=2009_insdr_mod_nba_xxx_xxx

There's been a lot of buzz recently around the idea that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade could join forces in Miami next season. ESPN's Chris Broussard did a nice job chronicling the possibilities Thursday.I was speaking to a Heat source last week and they put forth an even more intriguing (if farfetched) scenario: Could Miami team Wade with LeBron and Chris Bosh?

On the surface, the answer appears to be a resounding no. The Heat have a lot of cap space next summer but not that much cap space.

But the source in Miami insisted it was possible. How? Here are three scenarios -- all long shots, but plausible -- that could result in a real-world Dream Team in Miami.

Scenario No. 1: The sign-and-trade

Sign-and-trades are notoriously difficult to pull off. Since the league began allowing them a decade ago, only a limited few have actually been completed.But there are times when, convinced it will lose an asset, a team consents to sign and trade a star player to get something in return. For instance, in one of the most noteworthy cases, in 2000, the Pistons signed and traded franchise cornerstone Grant Hill to the Magic and got back a young, undrafted big man named Ben Wallace. And that's how Bosh could theoretically end up in Miami.

Given current forecasts, Miami is set to have something in the neighborhood of $20 million in cap room this summer, factoring in Dwyane Wade's cap hold -- in other words, the Heat should have about $20 million to use in addition to signing Wade (assuming he stays).

Depending on where the league sets the salary cap (for our purposes we're assuming a cap at $53.6 million next season), LeBron can earn a starting salary of around $16.5 million next season if he signs a max deal (no matter where he signs). So in that case, if he were to sign with Miami, he would end up eating most, if not all, of the Heat's cap space.

But if Bosh and the Raptors would cooperate, Miami could then acquire the Raptors' big man via sign-and-trade. For instance, the Heat could send Michael Beasley and Daequan Cook and return Toronto's No. 1 pick (owned by Miami) to the Raptors and slide Bosh in under the cap at a starting salary of around $10 million.

Of course, we know Bosh is unlikely to agree to a deal that starts at $10 million, especially if Wade and James are getting $16.5 million.

But what if all three players -- close friends from Team USA -- decide to take a small pay cut to play together? How small? If James and Wade both were to agree to a starting salary of $14.5 million, the Heat could offer Bosh $14.5 million as well.

There's been a lot of talk in the past week about whether LeBron would take less than the max, and a lot of skepticism that he would do so. But think about it. Once you factor in income taxes, LeBron, Bosh and Wade would be leaving about $1 million a year in take-home pay on the table. Factoring in raises, that would add up to perhaps $6-7 million over the life of a maximum five-year contract. You don't think they can make that up in playoff shares and marketing as the ultimate Big Three in the NBA?

Would it be worth $7 million over five years for those guys to win multiple NBA championships together in one of the most player-friendly cities in the league?

For Toronto, the downside of the deal would be clear. For starters, the Raptors would have to agree to a trade that would create a powerful team in their own conference. Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo might rather lose Bosh and get nothing in return than help the Heat create a dominant NBA team.

Still, strictly from the perspective of building their own team, the Raptors would be crazy to pass on such a trade, especially if Bosh firmly persuaded them that he was walking out the door no matter what. Beasley has a lot of talent, and the saved cash along with the extra first-round pick would help with rebuilding.

The Heat would have issues, too, especially in terms of depth. James, Wade and Bosh would be joined by just three current Heat players -- Mario Chalmers, James Jones and Joel Anthony -- and Miami would have to fill out its roster with seven to nine players willing to accept the league minimum. Surely they'd get a veteran or two, players who would be willing to join cheaply if it meant a good shot at a title (Marcus Camby and Joe Smith come to mind). But overall, the Heat would be very, very thin.

Scenario No. 2: Clearing cap space

One way for the Heat to make the acquisition of James and Bosh more plausible -- without the help of the Raptors -- would be to clear more cap space. For instance, they could trade talented players like Beasley and Cook to teams that had enough cap space to take on their contracts.A number of teams will be under the salary cap next year, and most of them do not have a realistic shot at LeBron, Wade or Bosh. Would they be willing to use some of their money to acquire a player with Beasley's upside? What about a shooter like Cook? Even James Jones could hold some appeal for veteran teams.

The downside of this scenario would be the same as the first: Going this route would create a very thin bench for the Heat.

Scenario No. 3: The big pay cut

The last scenario might be the most farfetched because it would require three superstars to take a sizable pay cut. In this scenario, each player would take considerably less than market value in an attempt to leave the Heat enough wiggle room to retain Beasley and/or sign or trade for other supporting free agents in the summer.

How much of a pay cut would it take? If Bron, Wade and Bosh all agreed to a starting salary of $13 million, the team would be able to keep Beasley and could just waive James Jones (and take the $1.8 million hit). Keeping Beasley on the roster would bolster the supporting cast, but the Heat would still be looking at filling out the roster with a number of players at the league minimum.

If the threesome agreed to a starting salary of $11 million per year, the Heat would have around $6 million in cap room to sign additional free agents. In that case, if they also moved Beasley, they could have around $11 million in cap room to sign role players.

I know what you're thinking: While lots of players say that winning is the most important thing, few of them are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

But how big of a pay cut would it actually be? Even in the most extreme case above, they would be losing about $5 million per season in salary, or a little more than that factoring in raises. But by the time we calculate taxes and the resulting take-home pay, the lost wages would be $3 to $4 million per season.

That's a whole lot of cash for most of us. But LeBron, Wade and, to a lesser extent, Bosh, would be able to earn back much of that with the additional endorsement and other business opportunities that would come with winning. And, yes, they would probably pick up a few rings -- and basketball immortality.

[Admin]

Damn if the Heat were able to get that trio together they'd be nearly unbeatable as long as they were able to get enough solid veterans around then to accept vet minimum contracts.

[MaceCase]

It's odd but in my head I'm thinking Joe, Marvin and Josh can defend that trio........but we sure as hell won't be able to score like them.

[Guest]

All 3 scenario's are just plain stupid. This article is the same quality as RealGM posts, shame on ESPN.