bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

LeBron James went first. Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. And now Chris Bosh has made it a clean sweep.
The "Big Three", for now anyway, are free.
And Pat Riley will soon have the chance to make the Miami Heat even better.
Bosh told the Heat he, like James and Wade, will be exercising the early termination option in his contract and forgoing the final two years on his Miami deal - making him a free agent.

	Chris is one of the most versatile and dynamic big men in this league, and he has been an instrumental key to our championship success

	Pat Riley
The move was not unexpected, and gives the Heat a gigantic amount of financial flexibility to shop with when the free-agent window officially opens at midnight today.
Bosh's decision was the last domino that the Heat needed to fall to free up the biggest amount of money possible heading into free agency.

"Chris is one of the most versatile and dynamic big men in this league, and he has been an instrumental key to our championship success over the last four seasons," said Riley, the Heat president.
"We look forward to meeting with Chris and his agent in the coming days to discuss keeping him in Miami for many years to come."
Riley expressed similar sentiments when James opted out on Tuesday and Wade exercised his option on Saturday.
"I like it here," said Bosh, who averaged 16.2 points this past season. "It's Miami. Enough said. People are dying to get here."
Like James, Bosh could have made US$20,590,000 this coming season, and US$22,112,500 in the 2015-16 season.

Wade was due to make slightly less in each of those years, but between those three and Udonis Haslem - who did not exercise a player option to make US$4.6 million next season - that is about US$66 million in salary that Miami could have been locked in to paying if these decisions had gone another way.
Instead, the thinking seems to be that for the Heat to get better, players knew they needed to give Riley room to work.
"Being able to have flexibility as a professional, anyone, that's what we all would like," James said shortly after the finals.
All three will be free to sign elsewhere, but there is no indication yet that they will even look at other clubs - and if they agree to new deals with the Heat, the team would almost certainly have more than enough financial freedom to upgrade a team that have been to the NBA Finals in each of the last four seasons, winning two championships.
With the NBA's salary cap expected to be somewhere around US$63.2 million for next season, the Heat will have tons of spending power - though much of that, they hope, will go right back to keeping James, Wade and Bosh.


Chris Bosh opts out in free agency clean sweep for Heat's Big Three

Miami Heat centre Chris Bosh is becoming a free agent like his "Big Three" teammates. Photo: AP

Miami Heat's Chris Bosh (left) and LeBron James wait to enter the game after a timeout as a San Antonio Spurs' fan mocks James. Photo: Reuters 

Spurs' Tim Duncan (21) and Kawhi Leonard (2) fight for a loose ball with Heat's Chris Bosh (1) and LeBron James (6). Photo: USA Today Sports

Sport

Other Sport

LeBron James was first, then Dwyane Wade and now the last domino has fallen, giving Miami financial clout to shop


Chris Bosh opts out in free agency clean sweep for Heat's Big Three

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}LeBron James was first, then Dwyane Wade and now the last domino has fallen, giving Miami financial clout to shop

LeBron James was first, then Dwyane Wade and now the last domino has fallen, giving Miami financial clout to shop