After a thrilling NBA Finals series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs, the question on every basketball fan’s mind is what next season and the future holds in store for these two teams.This is what might face the Heat and Spurs this offseason.
Changes To the Heat's Big 3
With the Heat having secured their second consecutive NBA championship, team president Pat Riley now has less pressure to make changes when it comes to the famous Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.Recent questions have been raised over James’s future with a termination clause in his contract which would make him a free agent in the summer of 2014. However, with the second championship in hand, Riley will likely keep his Big 3 intact and have one more ride for a third consecutive championship.
Heat's Chances of a Three-Peat
Only time will tell whether or not LeBron decides to commit his future to the Heat and see out the rest of his six-year contract or if he uses the opt-out clause at the end of the 2013-14 season.Although, in theory, LeBron has at least one year left on his contract, the Heat would most definitely like to keep him for another two years. If this is the case, LeBron has a fantastic chance of getting another title with the Heat in the next two seasons. It would be a huge task, and above all, an unbelievable achievement if they managed four consecutive title.
But LeBron would be happy with one more in the next two seasons.
Concerns for Heat
Pat Riley does, however, still have some areas of concern as the Heat were outmuscled by the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs big men this season. The player free agent market and spending under the salary cap leave limited options for Riley to bolster the squad.However, don’t be surprised if you see Riley setting out to find another big man or even give more responsibility to the "Birdman", Chris Andersen, who impressed when he came off the bench this season.
Changes To Expect For Spurs, Their Future
During the offseason, there should be a minimal amount of changes as Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both have two more years left on their contracts. As Duncan has said that he has no plans to retire, and with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich saying he will stay at the Spurs as long as Duncan is there, there won’t be many changes to the San Antonio outfit.Manu Ginóbili is a free agent, and although he has hinted at retirement, he is likely to return next season with the Spurs for one last push for an NBA championship. If Manu does retire, he is leaving the Spurs in the safe hands of players like Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, who can fill the gaps left by the 35-year-old.
With Leonard and Parker as the leaders of the next generation of Spurs stars such as Tiago Splitter, Green and Gary Neal, the rising starlets have huge potential and will one day become the core of the Spurs once Duncan and Ginóbili have gone.
Tony Parker's Next Finals Team
Tony Parker has two years left on his contract and his best bet on reaching the Finals again will be with the same Spurs team that were just there.Duncan is still playing a high level of basketball and with Parker being extremely loyal to Duncan as well as enjoying his life in San Antonio, he is likely to stay with the Spurs. Parker will most probably continue chipping away at that Championship trying to get one more title.
Conclusion
You can already start evaluating the Spurs and Heat’s stats and probabilities and place bets on sites like betsafe.com, such as on upcoming events or season results like whether LeBron James will be selected 2013-14 MVP.After all, next season promises to be a close affair again and with such an exciting NBA Finals series this season the popularity of the sport around the world is likely to grow massively.
With many of the golden era of NBA players coming to the end of their careers, only time will tell who will end their careers on a high and who will finish their career wishing they had gotten their hands on one more title.
[tps_footer] Written by Ari Rose[/tps_footer]
