In about 12 hours, the landscape of the NBA will be forever changed. With the best free agent class ever available, there could be dynasties formed, fanbases crushed, and time wasted. Over the past two seasons, multiple teams like the New York Knicks, Miami Heat, and Chicago Bulls have been dumping players and salaries in order to free up money for this super class, and of course, its grand prize LeBron James. But only one team will land James, what about the others? There will be plenty of players to go to teams losing out on signing LeBron, but how will the dominos end up falling when he makes his decision? Below are my predictions of where each of top free agents end up:
-- LeBron James: Miami Heat. I think Miami will end up winning the LeBron sweepstakes, and while it may surprise some, it makes a lot of sense for him to go to the Heat. New York has a losing atmosphere, Chicago has Jordan's shadow to play in, Cleveland can't get him the right players, and the Los Angeles Clippers are still owned by David Sterling. Miami will give LeBron almost the same amount of worldwide exposure and basically the same amount of money as he would draw in NYC (no taxes in Florida according to an ESPN report). There are a lot of things pointing to James being in South Beach, and if the rumored mega team is formed, the league better take notice. If Miami isn't LeBron's destination, he will likely be staying in Cleveland or possibly going to Chicago, although I view the Bulls as a mistake for James.
-- Dwyane Wade: Miami Heat. Other than Dirk Nowitzki, Wade is the most likely player to stay with his current team. The only other possible option would be Chicago, only because they are his hometown. But unlike LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade has won a championship with his team. If egos can co-exist in South Beach, Wade and James would form one of the greatest duos ever. The only problem I would see with them playing together is it may take a few games for them to figure out how many touches they both want during the game.-- Chris Bosh: Miami Heat. I expect the rumored mega team to be formed. But Bosh is the least likely of the three to make it onboard, mostly due to the fact he wants maximum money and a sign-and-trade, an option the Heat will likely pass on. If Bosh, James, and Wade can agree to start their contracts at around $14-15 million per season, they could easy bring the quality players needed to win the next five NBA championships. Five straight titles or a few million extra on your deal? If these players, including Bosh, want to win this is the best option for all three.
-- Joe Johnson: New York Knicks. Regardless of what Johnson has said about winning, he cares much more about the money. The Knicks probably aren't bad enough (I stress probably) to completely strike out in free agency, and they will likely land one player looking for money over winning. Whoever the Knicks end up with will obviously be signing for the cash, because winning isn't a common thing for New York (atleast for the Knicks; the rest of the cities teams somewhat know the formula). Johnson is a great player, and may also end up a Bull or Net, but if those teams find their guys fast, Joe may be the Knicks best and possibly only signing. Johnson is the most likely player to leave his former team.
-- Amare Stoudemire: New Jersey Nets. While drafting Derrick Favors severely hurt the Nets chances of landing one of the best free agent power forwards, they will likely throw a maximum deal at Stoudemire, something he will likely take advantage of. If he has to choose between the Knicks (constant losing, no end in sight) or the Nets (sharing a little time with Favors, plenty of potential), I think that's the easiest question Stoudemire has ever had to ponder. Amare could also possibly land in Chicago, and if Bosh refuses to sign outright with the Heat, could end up being the third piece of the "Dream Team 2010".
-- Carlos Boozer: Chicago Bulls. Boozer is near the top of the list for most likely to find a new home and would love to play with the Bulls if they can't land Bosh. Utah has Paul Millsap to replace Boozer and likely will not offer him anywhere near maximum money to stick around. Having already shown he can play well with an All-Star point guard (Deron Williams), Boozer and Bosh could form a very dangerous combination much like Nash and Stoudemire have been over the past few seasons. Boozer probably won't be offered quite the maximum by the Bulls, but I would imagine he signs to a team with championship hopes over an up and coming franchise.
-- Rudy Gay: New Jersey Nets. As much as I hope Rudy re-signs with the Grizzlies, I could see him being lured to the situation the Nets may present him. They have some of the best young players in the league and with one or two major additions, could be a major player in the Eastern Conference this season. Minnesota has reportedly said they will target Gay, but their chances of landing him are microscopic with David Kahn just selecting/acquiring four small forwards.
-- Ray Allen: Chicago Bulls. If the Celtics look towards rebuilding and decide to target someone like JJ Redick and playing rookie Avery Bradley, the Bulls or possibly the Heat would have the best chances of landing Allen. I could see the sharpshooting guard fitting very well into what the Bulls are trying to build, and considering his former assistant coach is now running the show, Allen could surprise more than a few people by going to Chicago.
-- Paul Pierce: Boston Celtics. Pierce is also a player very likely to stay with his current team. I would imagine he opted out to get more years, but also to agree to a slightly less expensive deal, allowing his team to get more players to surround him with. If Pierce is opting out with the intention of adding years and money, he may be finding himself a new home, however. I don't imagine the Celtics giving a 33 year old player over $21 million per season, and doing so would be a massive mistake. One possibility for Pierce could be Chicago, but I see it as unlikely he will leave Boston.-- Shaquille O'Neal: Dallas Mavericks. Dallas has been very open about wanting to have Shaq in a Mavericks uniform ever since the summer of 2004 when Los Angeles was shopping their disgruntled star. The Mavericks wouldn't offer Nowitzki, however, and the Lakers sent Shaq to the Miami Heat where he led them to a title in his second season there. While O'Neal probably won't even be a starter if he goes to a contending team, I imagine Dallas will make a hard push to land the aging center. New Jersey could be a dark house to land him if they can attract some of the bigger names in the class as well. Even backing up and teaching Brook Lopez, Shaq would be very valuable to a team like the Nets.
