Chris Bosh is now the main man for the Miami Heat.
Dwyane Wade will remain the face of the franchise but his knees have him playing much older than he is, and that’s not getting better. Luol Deng will provide some points, but the offense is going to run through Chris Bosh.
Which is why he signed an oversized five-year, $118 million contract with the Heat on Wednesday (the deal was agreed to earlier in the month). The Heat announced the signing.
“Chris Bosh is a two-time NBA champion and one of the skill set makes versatile big men in the league,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. “His unique skill set makes him one of the best players in the game today. I’ve always felt he was committed to this organization, this staff and this city. I think he’s going to have the opportunity of a lifetime leading this team next season and having the nine-time NBA All-Star back in the fold was a big key for us. We are very blessed to have him.”
That’s a lot of bank for Bosh, but it was part of Miami’s face saving moves in the wake of LeBron James choosing to go home.
Miami will be an interesting team next season. Bosh will surprise some people who don’t remember him from Toronto and don’t realize how much he subjugated his game to accommodate LeBron. With Deng, Josh McRoberts and some of the same players back the Heat can continue to use that space-and-pace style of play that has taken them to four straight NBA Finals. They will be a pretty good regular season team, one that will put up points and play fast.
The East likely shakes out with Chicago and Cleveland one and two in some order, then after that things get wide open — Washington, Toronto, Miami, Atlanta and Brooklyn could finish in any order from three through seven, with teams like Charlotte and New York also in the mix for playoffs spots. The East isn’t as deep with quality as the West, but it’s going to be a lot more interesting this season.