The Future of the Miami Big 3

Now that the NBA Playoffs have ended and the ageless Spurs have taken the throne from King James and co., we can all relax and await the futures of the "Big 3":  LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.  Each of the three have a player option available to take (one more year with Miami) or they can decline and become an unrestricted free agent.  We all remember what happened the last time James hit the free agent market.  However, are we going to see more decisions to be made?  Is this the end of an era for the Miami Heat?

Valued a few days ago by Forbes at $770 million, the Heat can credit three star players and four consecutive NBA Finals appearances for the high value.  James himself is valued at over $70 million!  But what happens if the Big 3 split up?  The value of the team will surely depreciate relatively quickly.  Bosh, Wade, and James's combined value totals $124 million.  To put that into perspective, Michael Jordan's brand is worth upwards of $1 billion.  If one or all three members of the Big 3 ditch the Heat for other franchises, the team's value will certainly decline, especially because their so-called "fans" will not want to show up to the games anymore.  The Cleveland Cavaliers's value dropped 26% after James left for South Beach.  With his brand larger than ever before, plus two other major brands in Wade and Bosh, Miami will likely see a large drop, as well.

The goal of any NBA player is to win a championship.  The best chance any player has of at least making it to the NBA Finals is through the Eastern Conference.  After the 2013-14 season, the Phoenix Suns had an impressive 48-win season, yet failed to make the playoffs; they would have been the fifth seed in the East.  It would be silly for any of the Big 3 to leave Miami to come out west to search for a new challenge--the Spurs had a tough enough time making it out of the first round against the Dallas Mavericks!  But the Spurs players kept fighting and won it all.

After their first season together, the Heat lost in the Finals to Dallas, but sought revenge and kept fighting, as did the Spurs this year.  With all of the critics saying Miami has lost everything because they could not pull off a three-peat (it is difficult enough to win back-to-back titles) and that they will disband, I say "SHUT UP!"  The team the Heat have now are competitive and enjoy playing quality basketball to go out and win a championship.  If people believe that one championship loss to one of the best players and coaches of all time will demoralize their confidence, they are wrong.  A true competitor goes back to the gym to work on their game in order to improve and return to glory (LeBron James circa 2012).  Because of this, I believe the Big 3 will all pick up their fifth years on their contracts and help the Heat return to the championship.  Now weather they are able to lift up the Larry O'Brien Trophy is for another time.

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Micah Sokolsky is a Pre-Junior Sport Management major at Drexel University with minors in Spanish and Business.  Micah hails from San Francisco, CA and was a participant on Drexel Sport Management’s College Sport Research Institute (CSRI) team last year in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 2013.  Micah completed his first co-op with the Camden Riversharks minor league baseball team in their Marketing and Promotions department.  A member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, Micah is involved on campus as the Athletics Chairman for the Inter-Fraternity Council and as a Resident Assistant in Race Hall. Connect withMicah on LinkedIn.