Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade: free agent situation "is a no-brainer"
Dwyane Wade won't say who he wants Miami to get, but he kept mentioning LeBron James and Chris Bosh amid rumors they want to join him here.
CHICAGO -- Dwyane Wade has given the Miami Heat his ``wish list'' of potential targets he wants team president Pat Riley to pursue when free agency opens at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
Landing the services of LeBron James and either Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh in Miami would be the beginning of the kind of championship makeover Wade seeks this summer.
Wade stopped short of offering names of the marquee players he discussed with Riley in recent weeks. But the Heat's star guard repeatedly mentioned James and Bosh when he talked about players who instantly could push a team to title contention.
Talk of James and Bosh coming to Miami intensified Monday amid national speculation the two were leaning toward joining Wade, with each taking slightly less money than the maximum they could command.
Wade, James and Bosh are considered the three biggest names on what will be the most talent-rich class of free agents in league history. Teams can negotiate with free agents Thursday, but players are not allowed to sign contracts until July 8.
``I've told [the Heat] what I would like to see happen,'' said Wade, who was vacationing in a private location Monday to finalize plans for free agency. ``But what I want to see, that doesn't mean it's going to happen. This situation is a no-brainer. But just in case it isn't, I've got to see what's out there. For me, it's not about the money. I just want to win.''
With a projected $44 million to spend in free agency -- an amount that could increase by at least another $2 million by Wednesday -- the Heat would be in position to offer Wade, James and Bosh each a starting salary of about $15 million.
Miami is the only team in the league that could split that much money among three free agents.
All three players plan to opt out of the final year of the respective contracts and enter free agency. Bosh, coming off his most productive season in Toronto, is considered the most likely to leave his current team for a new location.
There is a strong chance James, an Akron, Ohio, native, remains in Cleveland. Numerous league sources have reportedly linked James and Bosh to the Chicago Bulls. James also is the top target of the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.
The Heat, at least publicly, had been considered a dark horse in the LeBron sweepstakes until recently.
If it all happens, the Heat would fill out its roster with a combination of low-salary veterans, young free agents and its new second-round draft picks.
For months, Wade has talked about the possibility of teaming with James and Bosh to rekindle the chemistry they shared during their gold medal run in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
After last week's NBA Draft, Riley made light of creating enough salary-cap space to sign three players at or near maximum-salary contracts. But last month, Riley said he could envision a scenario in which Wade and two other superstars would discuss the sacrifices needed to assemble a formidable trio.
``You can build your own team in a lot of different ways,'' said Riley, who is expected to meet with James in Ohio this week. ``I know what I'm going to do with the first four or five guys. It's a question of putting together scenarios and financial packages and things like that. If you can get some philanthropic free agents who want to play here -- the point is, these players can create their own teams.''
Wade said the possibility of building a dynasty on the fly factored into his decision to bypass an extension with the Heat and opt out of his contract.
``I don't need to sign an extension and kill some of that [salary] room,'' Wade said of the Heat's available salary-cap space. ``I want them to keep as much of that room as possible to sign some outstanding players. Until then, we can all sit back and read the speculation.''