While the Cleveland Cavaliers where busy celebrating the return of their King LeBron James, Pat Riley and the rest of the Miami Heat front office were busy scrambling on what they would do with their $55 million cap space with no LeBron max-contract to fill it in with. By default they will be hailed as the biggest losers this summer in the 2014 NBA free agency and the reason is obvious: they lost the best basketball player and the biggest fish in the free agency market.
The Heat, however, quickly moved on and took the best of what was left in the market after LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony were no longer available. Luol Deng, a 10 year veteran and defensive forward and perhaps the best option in the SF position for the Heat, agreed to sign with the team and fill in the huge void left by LeBron James departure.
A report from Yahoo Sports reveals:
After losing LeBron James, the Miami Heat have reached agreement with free-agent forward Luol Deng on a two-year, $20 million contract, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Deng will hold a player option on the 2015-16 season, a source said. Deng chose the Heat believing their returning nucleus and free-agent signings can keep them contending in the Eastern Conference. The absence of state income tax made the Heat's offer a sound financial decision for him, too.
Deng's signing was a move made by the Heat after they handed Bosh a 5 year, $118 million max contract. Bosh chose to stay with the Heat after exclaiming that he would prefer to play with LeBron. The Heat star power forward shares that he has no hard feelings and will look forward on playing against his close buddy and teammate whom he has played with in 4 consecutive finals appearances and back-to-back NBA championships.
I can't lie to you: I'm excited. I'm excited for the challenge. I want to step up to the challenge. I feel this is a chance to prove to myself and others that I can still do this.
Bosh is still confident that Miami will still be able to compete next season. How far they will go, will depend heavily on him and his new found leadership role but he is ready to take the spot light after being the third opetion in the Heat during the 'Big 3' era.
That's the challenge of being a leader. It excites me. It's been a long time and I feel like I'm a much better player and a leader now, so it'll be fun.
Miami will likely make it the playoffs with a weak Eastern Conference. This means that their is a strong possibility that the team will meet James and the Cav's. The Heat won't probably make it to the finals though, Vegas listed them 50-1 odds of winning the title. The Cavs meanwhile, are the favorites to win the 2015 NBA championship with a 3-1 odds.
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