NBA Rumors: Bosh on the Fence

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The original tweet that Wojnarowski is referring to appeared on the Fox Sports 1 twitter account after his appearance on Fox Sports Live, which said that Bosh told the HEAT he wanted to stay in Miami and play with LeBron James. It came off as a straightforward no to the Rockets, but Wojnarowski’s clarification makes it clear that the door is not shut yet.

Earlier in the day ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that Bosh was basically waiting on LeBron James’ word about what to do.

Meanwhile, without any word from James other than he’s ready to meet in Las Vegas, the HEAT started making moves Monday. They came to terms with Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger, to the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions.

Seven days into free agency, we don’t know much than we did at the beginning of the process. There’s several different options for both Bosh and James, and none have truly been eliminated.

In the case that Bosh’s changes his mind, dislikes the pay cut he has to take from the HEAT, and takes up on the Rockets on their near-max offer, the HEAT already have a replacement in mind. There’s been widespread speculation and even a report from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith stating that Carmelo Anthony and the HEAT share a mutual interest. Anthony has already concluded his meetings with potential suitors, none of which were the HEAT, and is supposedly in the final stages of making his decision. He actually was expected to announce his choice on Monday, but did not.

Retaining Gasol and landing Anthony remains the Lakers’ top priority right now, outside of the just about completely unrealistic goal of getting Anthony and LeBron of course. In the case that they do land Gasol and Anthony, the next most important matter is going to be putting together a formidable second unit.

Blake has always been a favorite of Bryant’s and a longtime target of the Lakers. However, headed into the final months of his contract, they opted to send him to Golden State in exchange for two young prospects they wanted to really evaluate, Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks. With some additional star power added to the team and much higher aspirations, a reuniting only makes sense. Blake is the perfect kind of guard to fit in alongside a star studded team with ball dominant players like Bryant and Anthony and a quality facilitator in the interior in Gasol. His spot up shooting ability is exactly what they need at that position.

Butler would add some additional scoring power and veteran leadership to their bench. Right now their bench looks to be compromised of Kendall Marshall, Robert Sacre and Ryan Kelly – far from championship caliber. But Butler would help push them in the right direction.

This is the second time that Williams has met with the Mavericks, exhibiting a certain level of mutual interest. The Mavericks locked up Devin Harris recently to a three-year contract, but could still stand to add some additional help in the backcourt after the departures of Shane Larkin and Jose Calderon in the Tyson Chandler trade. Williams was one of the true bargains in free agency last year, playing with the Trail Blazers, making 2.53 million while serving as the leader of the Trail Blazers’ second unit. Williams is on record saying that he hopes for a three year contract. Given the Mavericks recent salary commitments, Williams could be one of the few free agents who doesn’t have to wait for the James or Anthony’s decisions to come first, as the Mavericks are already spending like they’re out of the running. They’re also close to coming to terms with their own free agent Vince Carter.