Dwyane Wade is listening to offers from interested teams, as is Chris Bosh. Meanwhile, Amar'e Stoudemire may be out in Phoenix while the money flies for second teir - and less - free agents.
View full sizeDwyane Wade is the clear No. 2 in this summer's free agent arms race."Dwyane Wade and his representatives spent about two hours with the Bulls, hearing their recruiting sales pitch as the most awaited free agent period in NBA history got under way in earnest.
"Later, Wade met with the New Jersey Nets, coming away from that session 'impressed,' just as he was by the Bulls’ presentation.
But that wasn't the only meeting taking place in Chicago involving the Heat. The team also met with Chris Bosh, according to the same report:"'So far, so good, very informative,' his agent, Henry Thomas, said of teams' pitches so far."
"Later yesterday, Wade’s old boss, Pat Riley, fixed his sights on forward Chris Bosh, who met with the Heat brass in Chicago.
"'It was good. It was good, real good,' Bosh said outside his agent's office in downtown Chicago."
Seeking Bosh's attention
The Houston Rockets are trying to get in on the Chris Bosh sweepstakes. Writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:
"The Rockets are on Chris Bosh’s 'radar.'
They are trying to get in the room.
"Bosh met with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in Dallas late Wednesday night and also had preliminary talks with representatives from the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls. He then flew to Chicago, where his agent Henry Thomas is based, to begin meetings that Thomas characterized as more substantial than the initial conversations in Dallas.
"Morey worked to get on that guest list, too, while also beginning recruiting efforts with a potential backup center, Bulls free agent Brad Miller.
"Talks with Bosh, however, seemed to stall, with Thomas quickly downplaying the importance of the meeting Morey did get with the 6-10 forward.
"'(The Rockets) dropped something off to him and chatted briefly,' Thomas said. 'They will be on the radar.'"
More from out West
"Channing Frye agreed to re-sign with the SunsAs for that other free agent forward in Phoenix, Coro writes:for five years and $30 million, $8 million more than the Suns figured to pay."
"Amar'e Stoudemire has yet to get the five-year offer from the Suns he wants, making a league source call a return to Phoenix 'highly unlikely.' He met two hours late Wednesday with Miami, and his agent said he received a better offer from another team Thursday and plans to go to New YorkThrowing money aroundfor a meeting Monday with the Knicks."
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News sums up Day 1 of NBA free agency by looking at some of the more bizarre offers and signings of the day:
"Atlanta offered borderline star/borderline blah player Joe Johnson a full-out max deal–6 years, $119M - and he hesitated taking it.
"Memphis agreed to a 5-year, $80M deal with the high-flying but always erratic Rudy Gay.
"Milwaukee agreed to a 5-year, $39M deal with swingman John Salmons and a 5-year, $32M deal with forward Drew Gooden – his eighth team in nine seasons, by the way.
"By the way, the Gooden deal is my nominee for dumbest deal of the day, though I realize there are several great competitors for the honor.
"Toronto agreed to a 5-year, $34M deal with center Amir Johnson.
"Minnesota agreed to a stunning 4-year, $20M deal with the one and only Darko Milicic."