Bosh, Wade to team up in Miami

The NBA's Summer of 2010 took another interesting turn Wednesday morning, as Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade will reportedly be teaming up in Miami. Chris Broussard of ESPN was first on the scene.

Wade and Bosh are expected to make their announcement today, 24 hours or so before LeBron James makes his announcement live on ESPN.

Bosh was being courted by several teams, including the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets. There was a time when people believed he could be dealt to Cleveland in a sign-and-trade to team up with LeBron, until it was reported that Bosh had no interest in playing for the Cavs.  Wade was being courted by the same teams, but many league executives reportedly feel that his free agent visits were designed to gather information and distract other teams, not seriously consider a city other than Miami.

One of the various issues surrounding the signings is how exactly Bosh will be coming to South Beach. It's been reported that he would only agree to a sign-and-trade, since that would give him an extra $29. The problem is that Toronto, according to sources, is not interested in what Miami has to offer. Miami, in fact, has just two players currently on the roster -- Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. The team has reportedly been trying to trade Beasley for quite some time now, without any success.

The financial details of this deal are going to be complex, especially if LeBron decides to join the pair to form one of the greatest trios the NBA has ever seen. And that is now the biggest question: Will James join Wade and Bosh?

If he does choose to do so, James would have to swallow a bit of pride. Michael Jordan didn't need two superstars to win six championships, and Kobe didn't need two to win five championships. James going to Miami would be viewed as him needing Bosh and Wade to win, which would hurt his image. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov reportedly said in team meetings that he believes the "LeBron brand" would be diminished if he were to go to Miami, and I completely agree with him.

Despite all this, the trio has made no secret of their desire to play together -- but money will make it difficult. If James is serious about teaming up with a superstar, his options would appear to have narrowed. Cleveland, other than that extra $29 million, would seem to have little to offer. Bosh and Amar'e Stoudemire are off the market, and it's unknown whether James would want to pair up with Carlos Boozer or David Lee. If he does, New Jersey or Chicago are still strong options -- especially with the Nets going after Boozer, according to reports.

And speaking of Stoudemire, he may play an important role in all of this. Here's an intriguing nugget from Broussard on Twitter last night: "Knicks gaining major ground in LeBron sweeptakes. Bosh snub hurts Cavs, though they're still in hunt." 

As I said in a post yesterday, New York has always been intriguing to James, who loves the bright lights of the Big Apple and Madison Square Garden. But as far as rosters go, the Knicks don't have much to offer -- other than Stoudemire. Though the Nets won just 12 games last season, they have some good young talent. Moreover, James is good friends with part owner Jay-Z. But if we are going solely by current roster -- and this is excluding Miami -- the Bulls have the best talent. Derrick Rose is already a superstar, and Joakim Noah has proven to be a solid big man. Playing under Jordan's shadow likely isn't something James wants, though the Bulls reportedly remain in the running. 

All I know is this: In a little more than 24 hours it will all be over.