Inside 'The Decision': Miami's coup was a 'surprise' built on long-coveted goal of James, Wade and Bosh Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
Posted: 07/10/2010 7:04 PM
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UPDATED: 9:34 p.m.
Al Diaz / Miami HeraldWith multiple sources now willing to fill in the blanks, it becomes more and more clear how much advance work and planning was put in by (from left) Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James -- as well as Miami Heat President Pat Riley -- to bring the NBA's three biggest free agents to South Florida. It was anything but a last-minute decision by James.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- During a rally for Miami Heat fans Friday night, Chris Bosh said he had been talking with new teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade about the moment for months.
It was a slip, which some, including Bosh himself, caught. The premise that the trio had been talking about teaming up for months hinted there was a plan in place. That potentially would be against rules, and could raise concerns from the league since Bosh and James were playing for teams battling for the playoffs in Toronto and Cleveland.
Bosh quickly revised the statement and said they had been talking about it for "days." But it appears James, Bosh and Wade had been discussing this for years.
That won't be comforting for Cavaliers fans who still are reeling from what many considered James' stunning departure. But it appears to be part of a complex master plan that was the trio's desire for much of the past four years.
Now that the move has been made, the veil of secrecy is being raised to a degree as people are beginning to talk. The Plain Dealer talked to numerous sources to piece together a picture of how James ended up in Miami.
It is still a somewhat fuzzy picture, but here are the broad strokes:
The seeds were planted in the summer of 2006 after Bosh, James and Wade finished their third seasons. Established All-Stars and clearly the future of the league, the three were part of a bonding effort led by USA Basketball to revamp and re-energize the national team after the disappointing 2004 bronze medal.
The three played together for the first time that summer in Japan at the World Championships. For the first week, they were sequestered without family or friends in Sapporo, Japan, in an attempt to build chemistry. But it wasn't just the players. Working as an intern for Team USA and getting to know the players was Nick Arison, the son of Heat billionaire owner Micky Arison.
Now, Nick Arison is a rising executive with the Heat. He was part of the team that recruited all three players this summer.
Already close because they came from the same draft class, the Team USA experience strengthened the relationship. Even before the team gathered in Las Vegas to prepare for the World Championships that summer, the three had talked about playing for that team.
That same July, the co-op took on another role when all three decided to extend their contracts with their teams. They couldn't all become unrestricted free agents until 2007 under the rules, so the smart play was for them to extend with the respective teams.
But with some of the league's higher-profile older stars perceived as being stuck in long-term contracts with struggling teams, the three decided to go for shorter contracts.
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this would be epic
