Miami Heat team president Pat Riley announced earlier today that the team has used their midlevel exception to sign power forward Josh McRoberts, while also adding small forward Danny Granger on a two-year $4.2 million deal. Is it enough to get LeBron James and co. to come back to South Beach?
LeBron James is expected to meet with Riley face-to-face within the next couple of days, and now the team president will be able to present some players who will join Norris Cole and Shabazz Napier as the only members of the Miami Heat under contract. But will it be enough to outshine the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Houston Rockets in free agency?
McRoberts, who is known as one of the better passing big men in the league and has significantly improved over the past few seasons, reportedly agreed to a four-year $23 million deal. Danny Granger also had a successful career with the Pacers before a slew of injuries resulted in the team trading him away. If he's healthy, there's no question about his productivity. The Heat, who haven't made their free agency plans clear aside from attempting to retain James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, are now one player away from having a full starting lineup.
James made it known that he wants a maximum contract, which is going to cost at least $20.7 million per year. Not once has the superstar been the highest paid player on his team - during his time with Cleveland a number of players made more money than him, including Ben Wallace and Shaquille O'Neal, and his last four years in Miami, he was paid the same amount as Wade and Bosh. The Heat will certainly have the money to pay him, but will they have the assets and game plan to convince him to sign?
James' agent has been talking to a few teams, but the four-time MVP has not met with anybody yet. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are said to have been weighing their options after they met with James and reported he was unclear about his future plans. Bosh currently has a maximum contract offer from the Houston Rockets that is worth $88 million over four years. Wade hasn't any contract offers, but it's likely a number of teams are waiting for James' decision before they begin any pursuit of the longtime Miami Heat shooting guard.
After James' face-to-face meeting with Riley, there will be more information regarding the clouded state of free agency between two of the games' biggest stars. If Bosh is considering moving on, it looks like LeBron wasn't too set on returning to Miami. The Heat could still only have four players under contract after James makes his decision.
You can read more about the Miami Heat's free agency situation in this ESPN article.
