LeBron answers the question, but Bulls fans have more
With a drastic change in the NBA landscape at hand, here are some relevant questions on the heels of LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat.
Q: Is Miami the favorite to win next year's NBA title?A: Probably not, with the Lakers roster intact and coach Phil Jackson returning for another season. The Lakers are the favorites for the moment.In the East, Boston might have the chemistry and experience to muster one more playoff run after taking the Lakers to Game 7 of the Finals. Rasheed Wallace retired, but Ray Allen re-signed and the Celtics added Jermaine O'Neal. Orlando still has the league's best center in Dwight Howard and went to the Finals two years ago.The Bulls should be better, but they're wishing they had another shot at signing Atlanta guard Joe Johnson right now.Q: What players will join James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Heat?A: Hard to say. Miami has forward Michael Beasley and guard Mario Chalmers under contract. James mentioned restricted free agent center Joel Anthony, who's a decent player.Unless Beasley is traded, the Heat will have to fill the rest of the roster with minimum-salary players. Will Udonis Haslem take a pay cut to stay in Miami? We'll see.It's easy to say plenty of good players will be willing to sacrifice to play on a good team. But don't forget, there are other teams with money to spend, including the Bulls, Knicks and Nets. The Heat might have to wait until next year to add more talent.Q: How will the Bulls fill their vacancy at shooting guard?A: They definitely need outside shooters and someone who can play defense against Wade now that Kirk Hinrich is off to Washington.The main free-agent targets will be Mike Miller and Kyle Korver. Orlando's J.J. Redick is a restricted free agent, but might be worth an offer sheet because the Magic is paying the luxury tax and could be reluctant to match.Other possibilities are Shannon Brown, Ronnie Brewer, Matt Bonner, Roger Mason, Raymond Felton and Nate Robinson.The Bulls could absorb salary in a trade, but it's tough to see any obvious possibilities that make sense. Most of the guys on the trade block have outrageous salaries.Q: Why couldn't the Bulls reel in James when they appeared to be the favorites going into free-agency?A: It's hard to tell, but it's obvious James, Wade and Bosh have talked for years about playing together. The power trio stayed in constant contact and built enthusiasm for meeting in Miami.Bulls players Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were receptive to James, but were reluctant to aggressively sell James on coming here with Luol Deng was still on the roster.Q: Was Wade playing the Bulls during his two visits with the team last week?A: At the time, the Bulls thought he was genuine about returning to his hometown and playing with either James or Bosh.But considering how rumors of the "Miami Thrice" match up began popping up a few days before free-agency began, it's seems almost certain everything that happened last week, from Wade meeting with the Bulls and James taking appointments in Cleveland, was a charade.Maybe Wade was being honest when he claimed on ESPN he almost teared up when thinking about turning down the Bulls, but that's not likely either.Q: Why did James do such a poor job of keeping his decision a secret?A: Another good question. He claimed not to make a final decision until he woke up Thursday morning and suggested less than five people knew his true intentions. Yeah, right.Q: What will happen to the Cavaliers next season?A: Nothing good. Maybe the Bulls can at least count on four wins against Cleveland next season.