LeBron James has been lauded for using his second free-agent process to control exactly what he wants to happen in 2014-15 and beyond. But it's fee agent Chris Bosh whose finger is on the button that can blow up the Miami Heat.
CBSSports.com is reporting that Bosh has become the uncertainly element in the Heat's plans of retooling around the Big Three and could end Miami's four-year reign as the team to beat in the NBA's Eastern Conference.
An earlier CBSSports.com report indicated that free agent Carmelo Anthony is expected to re-sign with the New York Knicks. As such, James would be the only other max-deal free agent on the market this summer. That in turn could mean a bigger payday for Bosh as a consolation prize for teams with money to spend under the salary cap.
Three teams - the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers - have room to sign a max free-agent contract. The Chicago Bulls, Phoenix Suns and Cleveland Cavaliers also have maneuverability to create room for a max contract.
Will pressure from the Big Three help Pat Riley retool the Heat?
Bosh could be the recipient of one of those max deals.
"A rival team executive told CBSSports.com Friday that the growing belief around the league is that Bosh would prefer a four-year max deal with another team to a discounted, longer-term deal with Miami. So many pieces in the Heat's puzzle are connected, and one of them falling out of place threatens to tear the whole thing apart."
If the Heat have to pay more to keep Bosh around, they won't have money to upgrade the roster around him, James and Dwyane Wade.
Wade is not considered part of this equation because rival teams believe the Heat have promised him the money he forfeited when he opted out of his current deal by giving him a longer contract, according to CBSSports.com.
If the Heat can't update their roster, James' agent, Rich Paul, has told those teams with cap space that James would choose finalists and meet with them in person as early as next week, the report added.
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