2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions: LeBron James Leaving Miami? No Commitment To Wade, Bosh!The King Wants To See What Heat Can Do First!

The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions still centers on Florida, although the protagonists are somewhere else. The Miami Heat are on the hot seat!  The King wants a King's ransom and a better roster, and even the Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are in the dark.

For those who are thinking that this is just a publicity ploy, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, with whom LeBron James met at a Miami restaurant are now saying that the King has also left them in the dark.

There were many suspicions that they already made their deal in that meeting and everything has been ironed out. This is not the case, according to the report. All that LeBron said was he was going to take the max contract. There was no mutual decision to opt out among the three of them. More importantly, LeBron James did not give any kind of assurance that he's coming back to Miami!

ESPN has the report:

"When the Miami Heat's "Big 3" went their separate ways after a lunch meeting last Wednesday, they went not knowing whether they had played their last game together, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

While Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were committed to returning to the Heat, LeBron James was unsure of what he would do, the sources said.

The only certainty coming out of the meeting concerning James was that he wanted a maximum-level salary.

James did not ask or suggest that Wade and Bosh opt out of their deals or take lesser salaries to allow the Heat to add other top players, according to the sources."

Which means Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade were acting on their own. But what if, after their sacrifices, the Heat come up empty with any quality free agents (Marcin Gortat is out, and a report says Kyle Lowry has also agreed to a deal in Toronto), will LeBron James leave Miami?

That would be devastating for the team and ever more so for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh if they take huge pay cuts.

Can LeBron James really do this to his cohorts, or is this just a smokescreen? Are they giving the impression that LeBron is available to throw off the other teams from focusing on their other target free agents? That kind of strategy is not beyond Pat Riley.