The Miami Heat have enjoyed an improbably impressive run these last four seasons, but unless the group manages to tack on another title or two before it scatters, the Big Three era will be largely forgotten. Or, maybe worse, remembered for all the wrong reasons.
This fate can be dodged, but landing title No. 3, while possible, will require some ingenious roster maneuvering this offseason.The stakes are high for the franchise. To become a dynasty, three truly is is the magic number. Ask the Bad Boy Pistons teams or Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets. While just a single title is what separates those groups from the '80s Boston Celtics, in the public's mind, it certainly feels like a lot more; the Celtics occupy a much higher tier.
So that's the cutoff. Three Larry O'Brien Trophies and you belong to the ages. Two and you're a historical footnote—an afterthought until, say, a cable documentary performs CPR on your brutish legacy.
Miami has four consecutive Finals appearances under its belt, which the aforementioned repeaters don't, so maybe they've earned a degree of recognition beyond theirs. But it doesn't feel that way at the moment, not with how weak the East has been during the run. So the Heat are parked—maybe even broken down—right at this consequential threshold.So quite a bit is on the line here for Miami, in the sort of narrow way that things can be "on the line" in matters of athletics. This is a big offseason.
The Heat's first order of business is ensuring LeBron James stays. Once that happens, the other dominoes will fall into place. But this isn't as simple as it sounds: To convince James to stick around, they need to convince him he can win in Miami.Here's how they do that.Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are still tremendously helpful players, but not at the salaries they'll command if they continue with their current deals. Both need to accept lesser salaries, maybe even salaries below their market value, to allow the Heat the requisite flexibility to rebuild a championship-caliber roster.
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