Was Free Agency a blessing for the Miami Heat more than three years ago?
NBA Fans can not argue with the results…Three consecutive Eastern Conference Crowns, which come with three automatic invitations to the NBA Finals attached to them, and also have ended most recently in back to back NBA Championship Victory Parades.
So, Will free-agents Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh ever leave such a situation?
Unlikely!
Commissioner David Stern stroke oil on the day he gave the Like thumps up sign more than twenty-five years ago and endorsed a NBA team for the City of Miami.
While some NBA cities have lost their teams since them, the Miami Heat franchise has remained strong and it shows no sings of slowing down.
On the contrary! The support the team receives from the City of Miami is huge and their fan base is easily more than three to four generations deep already.
Years before LeBron James and Chris Bosh decided to come to South Beach, the team had won a NBA Title and its’ biggest star, Dwayne Wade decided to sign a long term deal with the team, ending all speculations that he will leave for his native Chicago area as a free-agent at the end of his contract. That obscure move would change the landscape of the NBA, as Pat Riley would furiously try to build a supporting cast around his new stars.
Even though James, Wade and Bosh had never played in the same team before for an entire season, they still would manage to get to the NBA Finals in just one year of playing together.
The following season the Miami Heat looked monstrous with that one year of experience. A title looked imminent, NBA fans could not picture a scenario where another team could beat them four times in any seven game series.
The fact was that loosing in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, had turned the Miami Heat into a team of destiny and the bond with their fans grew to epic “…Us Against The World!” proportions, as Heat Nation circled the wagons around their team against criticism , specially its’ star player, the newly adopted LeBron James.
Loosing in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks that year jointly with Lebron James’ very much publicized departure from Cleveland, had created a Gigantic Tidle Wave of Critics that just went to town on him-and just hammered James-and his new team, publicly for the next three years.
And the very vocal, Cleveland Cavaliers Team Owner, Dan Gilbert was leading the charge.
The Chosen looks very happy to be in South Beach, though, nowadays…shooting Television commercials with his family, and another clear indication of him finding himself at home, were photos of James down on one knee-like a real gentleman should-proposing to his now wife Savannah Brinson in a room full of folks.
Lebron James has come a long, long way from his humble beginnings at Dayton, Ohio.
The man Heat Nation really loves like a son is Dwayne Wade.
Wade is directly responsible for bringing three NBA Titles to South Beach, recruiting and unselfishly conceding his franchise crown to Lebron James.
Whenever Wade walks off into retirement his jersey is without a doubt going up to the American Airlines rafters, one day.
The question is not if the Miami Heat are going to retire his jersey, the question is whether folks have the over or under five minutes that’s going take the crew to hoist it up the rafters!
A couple years ago the faithful wanted to do something special for Wade’s Birthday, but…What do you give to guy with two young strapping sons, fame, fortune and a Movie Star Girlfriend?
So they settle on the idea of giving him a new car for his Birthday, which was hardly an original idea.
So, the day of his Birthday, the faithful parked a construction crane outside the man’s house and lowered the car poolside!
Wade still laughs out loud whenever he’s reminded of it!
Miami Heat’s third free-agent, Chris Bosh finds himself in a peculiar situation.
Bosh is of great value, but the Miami Heat finds itself in need of signing another impact free agent to help LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Signing Chris Bosh to another max contract would most likely harm their chances of bringing in a solid contributor from what is a deep list of talented players in 2014.
Pat Riley is a modern day Red Auerbach, but Miami Heat Fans can not keep expecting Mickey Arison and Pat Riley to continue finding players of the caliber of Ray Allen and Chris Anderson at bargain prices.
Chris Bosh will have to decide whether he wants to stay or breakup the group.