Earlier this season, there was speculation that the Heat might dump Chris Bosh this off-season and replace him with a more affordable power forward. Bosh’s poor playoff performance might be more than enough to punch his ticket out of town. And franchise favorite, the awesome, yet injured D-Wade on his way out, too?
I guess if you’re Micky Arison, you’d probably want to amnesty both Wade and Bosh, if it were (a) possible and (b) didn’t upset the fan-base.
The Heat are due to pay Dwayne Wade $18 million dollars, LeBron James $19 million, and Bosh $19 million next season. By 2015-2016, those numbers increase to about $22 million.
The Heat made a valiant run to the NBA Finals this season. They trail 2-3 to the San Antonio Spurs heading into two games in South Beach.
But with Chris Bosh (29) looking more like a broken down Jermaine O’Neal and an injured Dwayne Wade (31) looking more like Latrell Sprewell, should Miami break it up?
| Chris Bosh | PPG | RPG | BPG | SPG |
| Regular Season | 16.6 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Playoffs | 12.8 | 7.1 | 1.5 | 0.9 |
| NBA Finals | 14.6 | 8.8 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
| Dwyane Wade | PPG | APG | BPG | SPG |
| Regular Season | 21.2 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Playoffs | 15.6 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 1.8 |
| NBA Finals | 20.0 | 5.4 | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| 2006 Finals | 34.7 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 2.6 |
Bosh has gotten worse on offense, but better with defense and rebounding. Wade has stayed consistent, but he’s a far cry, offensively, from the D-Wade that dominated the 2006 Finals.
Like Wade and Bosh, James has gotten better defensively, but worse offensively in the 2013 NBA Finals.
| Lebron James | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG |
| Regular Season | 26.8 | 8.0 | 7.3 | 1.7 |
| Playoffs | 25.1 | 8.1 | 6.5 | 1.7 |
| NBA Finals | 21.6 | 10.8 | 6.8 | 2.2 |
James seems to shrink in, rather than dominate the NBA Finals, but his defense and rebounding have been solid.
But with the projected luxury tax next season, the Heat would be smart to break up this expensive, yet amazing defensive team. Whether they win or lose in the Finals might determine which way management goes. It is interesting to note that Bosh put his mansion up for sale during the Finals.
Some of the top shooting guard and power forwards on the market this summer are: Josh Smith (PF), Andray Blatche (PF/C), Josh McRoberts (PF), Carl Landry (PF), David West (PF), Kenyon Martin (PF), J.J. Hickson (PF), Emeka Okafor (PF), Aaron Gray (PF/C), Al Jefferson (PF/C), Paul Millsap (PF), O.J. Mayo (SG, protected), Tony Allen (SG), and Jerryd Bayless (SG, protected).
For that matter, what’s to stop the Heat from amnestying Bosh and trying to sign All-Star Dwight Howard as a free agent?
When the Finals end, the Heat will decide whether to stick to their guns or, perhaps, plan another off-season coup, like they did in getting James, Bosh, and Ray Allen.
Rob S. De France is a College and University Instructor of English Composition living in Los Angeles. He has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition. De France has played, coached, and officiated competitive high school basketball in California for many years. Recently, De France, his wife, and another colleague started an internationally read magazine at Shwibly.com.
