2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions: Luol Deng Is Miami Heat's Consolation Prize; Chris Bosh Has No Hard Feelings On LeBron James

The 2014 NBA Free Agency Rumors & Predictions takes a peek at the Miami Heat-while everyone else is looking at Cleveland's direction. By default they will be named the biggest losers in the offseason-they lost the biggest name. But they took the best of what was left.

Luol Deng, a 10 year veteran and probably the best small forward in the market after LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, has signed with the Miami Heat to fill in LeBron James' huge shoes.

From Yahoo Sports:

After losing LeBron James, the Miami Heat have reached agreement with free-agent forward Luol Deng on a two-year, $20 million contract, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Deng will hold a player option on the 2015-16 season, a source said.

Deng chose the Heat believing their returning nucleus and free-agent signings can keep them contending in the Eastern Conference. The absence of state income tax made the Heat's offer a sound financial decision for him, too."

Meanwhile, Chris Bosh, who returned to the Heat despite LeBron's departure, says he has no hard feelings and can't wait to compete with his former running mate: "I can't lie to you: I'm excited. I'm excited for the challenge. I want to step up to the challenge. I feel this is a chance to prove to myself and others that I can still do this. "I want to see if I can do what's necessary to go in there and win every night. That's the challenge of being a leader. It excites me. It's been a long time and I feel like I'm a much better player and a leader now, so it'll be fun."

"It's a very different process, but I think I know how to do it."

He recalls their meeting in Miami: "It's not what everybody thought it was. We were just talking and having lunch with each other. Did I expect to kind of figure things out? Yeah, for sure. But it wasn't that. We just enjoyed having lunch. That's when I could tell, there's a possibility that somebody could be in a different uniform next year."

Bosh still strongly believes the Heat will be good next season. How good, that will largely be up to him.

"We have so much chemistry. We'll just be continuing without LeBron. It's starting a different chapter. It's exciting. I think it should be motivation for everybody to step up to the plate. We're fortunate enough to have some of the same guys. We should be able to say, 'Hey, we can come out here and compete no matter what happens."'