LeBron James And His Talents Are [Probably] Leaving South Beach

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In June 2010 LeBron James, then of the Cleveland Cavaliers, became one of the most coveted free agents in sports history. The sports world waited with baited breath as The Chosen One made his choice—or his decision, if you will.

James’ free agency culminated in “The Decision,” a 75-minute program that ESPN aired on July 8, 2010. Although the news he had signed with the Miami Heat leaked earlier in the day, James infamously announced he was “taking [his talents] to South Beach” during his own primetime special.

To say “The Decision” added insult to injury for Ohio basketball fans, who worshipped Akron-born James as their King, could be its own ESPN special called “The Understatement…of the Century.”

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Days later The King arose from his new throne during a pep rally (of sorts) in Miami and promised Heat fans “Not two, not three, not four, not five, not dive, not seven” titles. The promise of seven or eight championships whipped fans, and the sports world at large, into a frenzy.

[Click to see video of James’ promise to Heat fans]

It’s been four years since King James made that promise, and even though he didn’t even come close to delivering on that promise—of course,  two championships and four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals is nothing to sneeze at—the frenzy has begun again anew.

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Perhaps James had every intention of playing out his career in Miami when he signed there, but times have changed and he’s no longer married to the idea. On Tuesday his agent informed the Heat of his decision to opt out of the final two years of his contract.

Meaning that LeBron James is, once again, a free agent.

At this point it’s unclear if James is intent on leaving Miami or if he’s just angling for a more lucrative deal. The Heat’s ability to negotiate with him depends entirely on the next moves of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who are both under contract for the next two years, should they choose to be.

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If Wade and Bosh both elect to play out their current contracts in Miami, Heat President Pat Riley will have very little room to maneuver in order to keep James—as it stands they have just under $40 million in salary committed to the rest of the Big Three in each of the next two seasons.

Not much to work with.

Unfortunately for Riley, who has made it clear the team is interested in retaining the King’s talents, Wade and Bosh did not perform exceptionally well this season and really struggled in the playoffs. Certainly not the most desirable situation to test the free agent market.

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It’s hard to imagine Wade entertaining the idea of opting out at all, under any circumstances.

The 32-year-old has played his entire career with the Heat and has never expressed a desire to play elsewhere. Then there’s his health. Wade’s chronically enfeebled knees remain an ongoing problem, limiting his regular season action. He hasn’t played more than 70 games since 2010-11.

Although Bosh’s decline coincided with his move to Miami, where his workload lightened substantially from what it was playing for the Toronto Raptors, his production still slipped in each of the last four seasons. That’s a trend that rarely reverses entirely after the age of 30, a mark Bosh reached in March.

Which means that, while the market for James is already white hot, the market for the services of Bosh and especially Wade will be lukewarm at best. That doesn’t give them any incentive to renegotiate, let alone opt out.

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So hopefully Carmelo Anthony enjoyed his brief time as the league’s most coveted free agent this summer, because LeBron James has already usurped his throne. Just the kind of behavior we’ve come to expect from The King.