Bosh agrees to $118M deal with Miami
7/12/2014MIAMI — Chris Bosh said countless times in recent weeks that he did not want to leave Miami.
Not even LeBron James' departure changed his mind.
Shortly after the Heat took a King-sized hit, their future started coming together.
Bosh is staying in Miami, agreeing Friday to a five-year contract that will be worth about $118 million, said two people familiar with the deal.
There's still plenty of work for Heat president Pat Riley to do, however.
Next up for the Heat: More than likely, it's a deal with Dwyane Wade, who has spent all 11 of his NBA seasons in Miami. Wade and Miami were negotiating a new contract Friday, a move that was expected from the very moment that the 2006 NBA Finals MVP opted out of a deal that would have paid him about $42 million over the next two seasons.
"I know where I'm going," Wade said on Thursday, one day before James let the world know that he was going elsewhere.
While Miami is working to get a Wade deal finalized, it's unclear when Bosh will actually sign his contract. He's expected to be in Ghana until next week. Bosh is an All-Star who averaged 16.2 points on 52 percent shooting last season. He now figures to potentially get many more shots in the Heat offensive scheme.
There's no shortage of openings on the Heat roster.
Miami has agreed to deals with Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger, which should get finalized once the Heat figure out how to allocate their spending now that James is gone. Guard Norris Cole was the only holdover from last season with a guaranteed contract, while young center Justin Hamilton has a partially guaranteed deal and point guard Shabazz Napier came to the Heat on draft night.