South Beach just got a little hotter. While LeBron James waits to announce his decision tomorrow, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have decided to sign with the Miami Heat. Wade returns to the team he's been with since he was drafted and has already won a championship with. Bosh is leaving the Toronto Raptors, who never even made it out of the first round of the playoffs during his tenure, to join Wade and the Heat. The duo will instantly become one of the most exciting duos in the league, and with the right supporting cast, they could be winning a few titles in the near future.
While cities such New York and Chicago are scrambling to land LeBron, they missed out on the next two biggest targets. Each city talked to Wade and Bosh about joining their franchises, but it's been clear all along that they wanted LeBron more than anything. Pat Riley now has two of three pieces he wanted to put together his Dream Team, and tomorrow night, he may land his last guy.
With the duo going to the Heat, LeBron is going to have to take another look at his options. I think Chicago is all but eliminated from contention at this point, considering they missed out on pretty much everyone they had targeted to pair with James. New York is still alive because they already struck and landed Amare Stoudemire, but I've never thought the Knicks were at the top of his wish list. Cleveland has no chance of landing Bosh now, and unless they can make a massive move in the next 24 hours, I don't see LeBron going back there either.
I think this narrows his choices to Miami and New York. The main thing is whether or not he wants to play with Wade and Bosh. Because they are already set to go to the Heat, James now has complete control over the Dream Team possibilities in Miami. The Knicks landed a superstar in Stoudemire and that may be enough to bring LeBron to New York, but they would need to sign one or two quality role players to help their cause. Personally, I've thought since the beginning of free agency that all three players would end up with the Heat, and I'm standing by that feeling now, especially since they are two-thirds of the way there.
There will be more coverage and updates on this situation and LeBron's possible destination here on the site over the next 36 hours.
