Want to see LeBron in Miami? It might rest on Beasley

Several media outlets reported Wednesday morning that Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade will be playing for the Heat next season. And so the next question is this:

Will LeBron James join them?

To get that answer, we have to first find out if anybody wants Michael Beasley. Simply put, if the Heat can't get rid of Beasley's contract, they don't have enough space for three max-salary players.

Beasley is due to make about $5 million next season, which is pretty reasonable for someone who scores 15 points per game, as he did last season. Plus, he has a team option (for $6.3 million) for the 2011-12 season. So there's no long-term financial burden for the team that holds his contract.

But reports in previous weeks had said that that the Heat were shopping Beasley and had no takers. Would that change now that some of the top free agents are off the board? The Heat hope so, because otherwise they don't have the cap space to give James a max contract.

Assuming they sign Wade and Bosh to max deals, here is who the Heat would have on the books in 2010-11 [see chart].

The $13.4 million left over is not enough to sign James to a max deal. Removing Chalmers from the equation (as part of a sign-and-trade for Bosh) does not get them to the $16.6 million mark either. In order for them to have the needed cap space, Beasley would have to go.

Option 1: Include Beasley in sign-and-trade deal

The first option to dump Beasley would be in a sign-and-trade deal with Toronto for Bosh. If the Raptors took Beasley back (with or without Chalmers) in a sign-and-trade deal, then the Heat would have enough space for James.

That's not Miami's only option.

Option 2: Trade Beasley for nothing

The Heat could also find a third team with cap space willing to take on Beasley's contract. Maybe one of the teams that have struck out with Bosh sees Beasley as a short-term stopgap at power forward. Maybe the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have just enough cap space to absorb Beasley's contract, would want to team him with childhood friend Kevin Durant. In a trade with any team that has cap space, the Heat wouldn't need to take back any salary, and they would be left with enough space to sign James.

The Heat also could grease the wheels on a Beasley deal by sending the other team cash. In any trade, up to $3 million can go from one team to the other. The Heat could send $3 million and Beasley to another team (be it the Raptors or anyone else) and they'd essentially be paying 60 percent of his salary. They can also throw multiple Draft picks into a deal as well.

That seems like a great opportunity for a team that wants to take advantage of the situation. But any team taking Beasley off Pat Riley's hands would know that they're allowing the Heat to put together one of the best trios in NBA history. A team like the Thunder, for example, would be reducing their own chances to win a championship in the next five or six seasons.

If the Heat can't deal Beasley, there's one other way they can get James.

Option 3: A lower payday for trio

Convince James, Bosh or Wade (or all three) to take less than the max. If the Heat kept Beasley and Chalmers and divided the remaining cap space evenly among the big three, each of them would be getting a starting salary of $15.2 million.

In a six-year deal -- which Wade would definitely get and Bosh could get in a sign-and-trade -- that $15.2 million starting salary would turn into a total of $114.8 million, or about $22.9 million per year. That's $2.1 million per year less than a max deal.

In a five-year deal, which James would get (assuming that the Cavs aren't willing to participate in a sign-and-trade), that $15.2 million starting salary would turn into a total of $87.9 million, or about $17.6 million per year. That's $1.6 million per year less than a max deal.

Can the Heat dump Beasley? Are the big three willing to take less money? If the answer to one of those two questions is "yes," then LeBron James can very well join Wade and Bosh in Miami.

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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