Culture

Following LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh Opt for Free Agency

Each of the Miami Heat's vaunted "Big Three" has declared free agency this week.

By Adam Chandler
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Each of the Miami Heat's vaunted "Big Three" has declared free agency this week. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are reportedly opting out of their contracts, joining LeBron James, who announced earlier this week that he would test the market. Oh yeah, and Udonis Haslem too.

From ESPN:

Wade will opt out of two years and $41.8 million, Bosh will opt out of two years and $42.6 million and Haslem will not exercise his player option of $4.6 million. Agent Henry Thomas, who represents all three players, told ESPN he spoke with Heat president Pat Riley on Saturday to inform him of Wade and Haslem's choices."

Only weeks ago, the team seemed poised to three-peat as they squared off against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. They limped out of that series without their third title after being roundly defeated 4-1 in the best-of-seven series.

As Ben Cosman pointed, just four summers ago, the world watched in a combination of awe and horror as the Big Three, with absurd fanfare, debuted, promising that they had arrived to win "not one, not two, not three....not seven" championships.

They did win two, bookended by Finals losses.

For now, it seems possible and even likely that at least two of the three could decide to play for Miami as the team tries to improve its roster. But until that happens, the summer of sports speculation begins...now.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.