The Untold Story of Miami's Big 3

I don't want to jump around but you talked about coach bow earlier and then you talk about this draft. How did you all turn put this big three thing together? You seriously? Yeah, like I played on a team. I still know the answer. So the people at home really to hear the answer. Yeah, you're right. It's I mean, it's I'm sure everyone has their own version. First of all, no better version than yours. Yeah. I'm not sure everyone has the only version. I know is the version that my ass was almost out of here. We were going to let that happen for you, man. My man was gone already. I had to you know, you can't hear somebody going so far away. It's like you did. My man was like, I'm out of here. But now I wasn't, you know, I wasn't gonna let that happen. If I could do anything about it, it wasn't gonna feel right. But you know how happened man conversations. It happened LeBron give credit to LeBron. He was at a period in his career where he started seeing something. He wanted to see something different for himself. And so because of that, you know, this guy coming off of we both we all was in seven years of our career at that time. So we all have done some amazing individual things. I think he had two MVP's at the time. I already had my finals in Miami P. I'm straight. I'm sitting back like one day. But it was a time where one man, we had already won. We already experienced what that was. And then we went through losing. We went through rebuilding and I was tired of that. I was actually leaving Miami at that time. Really? I didn't think I because I didn't think that nobody out there that we could get was going to help us get to that level. Not that they weren't good players. I just didn't think it was enough. So we had conversations levels. Yeah, like this is free. I just know that we are looking. We are free to go and experience like what we want. And at that time, I wanted to be a part of a team that can win. And for me, my hometown team can win. But I was like, man, I'm going back home. I'm going to Chicago. I played seven years here. I won a championship. It's time to go to the next and for me, that was my mentality going to free agency outside of Miami. Now, of course, Miami was still in there for me, but I got that call, man. I got that call from number six. Crazy thing is I was a part of that free agency class. I got a few different phone calls than you got during that time as being a free agent. Oh, you was a part of that free agency class? Damn, my bad, Mike. What I'm saying though is like, I remember watching because when you're a part of those clubs, when you're a part of that free agency, you're watching what's happening. You're watching the dominoes. Yeah, I have great self-awareness. Yes. Yeah. I know until certain names are coming off this board, my phone was going to be, you know what I mean? So I heard the Chicago thing. And the funny thing is I heard the Chicago thing with you and LeBron. Yeah, it was a lot of scenarios. It was a lot of different scenarios. How close were we to meet in Chicago or somewhere else? It was a part of the conversation. Because I think what people don't remember is when we went into that summer, every team did what they needed to do to get two star players. Yeah. That's when all you guys were taking all those trips and everybody was going to visit like these different teams. I think New York and the Brooklyn Nets now, the New York Knicks, the Chicago Bulls, the Clippers, like all these teams that everybody had, that Chris had, that I had, that Amari had, that Bron had. They all had a chance to get two-star players. So Chicago looking like, hey, all right. Now, I don't know the truth of the conversation, what I'm not privy to, but in my mind, I was like, if I'm going to go to Chicago, it can't be me and Bron. I got to beat Bron there. They're going to take him before they take me. But it could be me and Chris or it could be me and Abuza or whatever, right? It couldn't, because I never thought about playing with LeBron. Yeah. I didn't think that that was possible. First of all, I was shocked when that happened. You and me both. Shocked. And plus, he's my favorite person besides Cole, like to compete against. I'm not thinking about playing with him. You know, I love our matchups. And then I got a call. And the call was, Bron was on a call, I was on a call, our agents were on a call, and it was explained to us on that call that the Miami Heat quietly had did enough so they can get three-star players. And that's when the game changed. Pat Riley. I'm telling you, him and Andy. And Pat. Oh my God. And it was quiet. No, it was no ESPN, no reports, no breaking news. Everybody else was talking about it. Everybody was talking about the Heat was quiet. And so we all, I was thinking, two pick, two players go to a team. When they hit us with that, I was like, so, you know, you get that little quietness on the phone with Bron. I'm like, Oh, okay. So, what you want to do? And so we went from there to like, let's get in person. Let's have a conversation. We had already knew the other player of it was three who we would like to play with. His name was Christopher Bach. Chris was represented by the same agent, Henry Thomas, at the time. And so we just kind of like, let Chris know like, hey, we having this meeting. Talk about some stuff. Let's talk about it. And so we had a secret meeting, secret location. It may come out in one of the documentaries, somebody talking about all that. But it was like, it was some real fire. It was in Miami? Nah, it was a secret location. That's what I was going to say. It was all how we did. I mean, you know what? I got a production company. I may just do a movie on just like 24 hours of the victory. And now if I show, if I do it and show y'all how we all met up, it was fire. It shocked me because I was in that same free agency. That's dope. I'm sitting there and, you know, I'm on the outside looking in and all of a sudden it's like, okay, D-Wade and CD going to Miami. I'm like, that could be. So I'm about, I'm actually about to sign with the Lakers. Really? I was about to sign with the Lakers. It was feeling home. You're calling like double by this, that, and the third. Okay, and I get a call from Bronze Camp. I said, what you about to do? I said, what you mean? So I was like, you're going back to Cleveland, clearly. Right, clearly. I'm like, ah man. So Cleveland's, the GM of Cleveland starts calling all the time. He goes, no, no, just be patient. Two days. You'll find out. I said, oh. He drops out like me and UD probably the same way. There ain't gonna be no bread over there. Because I'm sitting there. Once I seen that and then I seen, I think you signed before me. I was like, I'm out this bitch. No, no, we have no way. We had a phone call because I told him when they called. We called about you. I was like, I was like, hey man, you know, we got to get this number. I was like, okay, cool. He goes, but now UD is going to be as a, no, no, no, that's his first. I call it. I had to call. I said, that's his first. That's his hometown. And then we came up and figured it out. We, I think you guys take less money. They need it. They need a spacing, which was a big deal. You were, you were, you were scarred. He just said it. You just said LeBron's first call. Yeah, you was a priority was, was, was Mike Miller because we needed shooting. Yeah, right. Now, we got me and Brian together. That is no shooting. We can make shots. It's no shooting. Chris wasn't a shooter at the time. He was a man. Right. Wild, by the way. Switched like that. Like that. That's wild, by the way. He was, he was left elbow, right elbow jump shots in Toronto. Man. I mean, he had the fundamentals. Like, obviously, he got, he had game winners and stuff, but we didn't know he was going to take it to the place, but you were the first call. And so this is all happening on my side. This is all happening in real time. So we already knew that we were going to something. We signed on July 7. Let's say LeBron was July 8. We already knew these things once. Well, we have, we hope that LeBron was going to do his thing. He said he was, he went silent. So I know he went quiet. He went quiet about three days from July 4. I ain't hear from Brian from July 4 when we all, we all agreed that we were going to do it on July 4. I remember where I was at. I was in South Carolina with my wife. She was shooting a movie. I went and hid under some, like the little beach thing. I don't know why I was hiding. I went and hid under there to take the call and that's when we decided on July 4, but I didn't hear from Brian no more until his, after his decision. So I didn't know. I was like, I hope, because it started, it started heating up and I'm like, man, this is tough. It's going to be tough for him to make that move. Like I'm looking at it. I'm like, this is crazy, man. And so obviously he ended up doing it, but a lot of conversations, man, and the conversation that we had as a group was more so Brian leading it, talking about what he was looking for, what he was looking to do for his career, what he wanted to do from the standpoint of what kind of coaches he wanted to be a part of, what kind of organization you want to be, like all the things that he needed, that he's continued to take and go off and the rest of his life and do, he knew he needed that. And Miami was the place. It was, once the conversation started about us three, it was just Miami. And so we just had a lot of conversations, man. I remember one we had about the head coach and Spohat just became the head coach like a year or two before that. So no one knew Spohat. And I remember Brian asking me in the meeting about like Rouse. I was like, hell no. Hell no, immediately. I was like, nah, I don't want that. You don't want that. I mean, we won a championship with him. Now, see, you see that. We like Spohat. The man ready to ride the exercise bike for an hour before the game went down. Nah, nah, we can't do that. Exercise bike for an hour before the game. Yeah, I love, we all love Rouse. And you guys were pulling that off. That changed my life killer. I ain't gonna lie to you. Oh, no. Listen, let me tell you something. Once again, two things can be true. Obviously, I was happy for the Miami Heat and organization with a mind. I thought I was out this. So now I'm heading down to the arena. Thank you, but no, thank you. Minimum. You're going once again. That ain't gonna work for me. Like I'm 2829. I got to start cashing in right now. You know what I'm saying? Who knows how it goes? Headed down to the arena. Once again, shout out Henry Thomas, our agent, man. God bless the dead. The great Henry Thomas. Calls me as I'm exiting off the expressway. Yeah, I'm heading in to say bye, you know, thank everybody for everything. Just chill when you get there for a second. Don't go inside. Might have something. Okay, I sit in the car. Cool. I wait in the car for 10 minutes, 15 minutes. I don't know what he got brewing over there. I know they working on something, you know what I'm saying, but I wait now. He called me back like 20 minutes later. All right, go ahead. You can go in and talk to rise. I think we got something worked out. So when I get in there, you know, they tell me they got what it was five years. I think it was about 30 five years 27. Something like that 40. It was someone was offering you 40 Dallas. Yeah, that was all for it. Dallas was offering me 40 and no state tax, just like Florida. So the money would have been cool. But now not an opportunity to play. Once again, it's my brother here. Then we got you with my brother in college. Then I got opportunity to play with one of the greatest if not the greatest to play the game and then Chris Bosh. This is what you play for. Yeah, but this is why you play. You know what I'm saying? And this is what has me up for the rest of my life because that man who we just talked about Pat Riley told us that there's mid there's winning and there's misery ain't no in-between and the rest of my life has been since he said that I'm a rest of my life has been as he said because I can't do the in-between and if I'm losing a miserable, this is what these don't understand. Browsing therapy. Yeah, browsing therapy pilot in-between. Yeah, listen, that's how we that's how I live my life. And that's how we have lived our life. Yeah, it's like they're like he said, he wanted to know who he could win with. That's why he was about to leave. It had nothing to do with the heat. No, I'm going to do it. Nothing. I'm trying to can I win with where can I go and win a championship? Yeah, we weren't doing it in those two years before Bronham got here killer. I was like, no, this is what we get in the asses with but let me give you the other side of that call right there with you D. So we I get a call from Hank. This is all happening at the same time. I get a call from Hank Miami K match, you know, what you Dean? What do you D wants? He's out. I'm like what you mean? He out. He's like he out. He right now headed to the arena. I'm like what so I hop on the phone. I hop on the phone with Brian and CB we get on the phone and I say hey fellas. All right, we got my I know we talking about killer. Yeah, cool. This don't work without number 40. Yeah, so this is how much money we need. I get this right and it was no hesitation. Chris Brown was like done whatever we need because this doesn't work without 40 you D ain't here. I told him I said you D ain't here. This don't feel right for me because I know what we're about to do. Yeah, and I don't want to go see my brother in Dallas. I'm about to go do this and my brother. I was his ass. Yeah, I want to I want to get him on one of my souls and bad decisions made. Bad decision. We want to get one of my soul. Don't take it personal. Just take it with you. Get this stuff back. You got to be good on that one. Get these other 20 step back. Here we go. Listen, I would definitely Flaker. So it wouldn't work. It just and they knew it. I knew it. Everyone knew it just didn't feel right. But obviously money is money and everybody, you know, the heat only had what they what they had because they had three guys who took up most of the money. But at that point, bro, it was bigger than basketball. It was more. So like understanding what we was about to embark on and understand who helped build this and I ain't talking about like the Zoles and the tomorrow ways and them who did it before us, but in our era we did. And so what we're about to go down. It's no way that this works without my brother coming back and so to their credit, they both gave back the money that we can get to even get him close enough to where he feel comfortable to stay because he still has a family to feel that and that 40 that 40 look good over there. He already had a ring. He could have been like nah, I see y'all in the summer. I'm glad it worked out. Yeah, I'm glad I mean at the end of the day, bro. I had to get him a money's worth. You know what I'm saying? Like they got a family to feed too. So Chris him you that's different. But Chris and Brian, they didn't know me from hand to paint. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? They just see them up who spit fire talk on the basketball court. They don't know me as a person. So to give up money, I had to give him a money's worth man. And I was just what's understood and had to be explained, but they understood that they listen love Brian. I love Chris. I even love myself. We ain't the first one jumping in that battle that a fight. We also understood what we needed. Yeah. Yeah, we need to be a coach. We saw the juice in the elevator. Hey, I don't know what y'all think. And we come to Miami. You probably went on that jury driving these cars. We need UD. I don't know. None of this works without UD. I don't know if y'all know that. Hey, one thing about it. Two things for sure, man. I always took it personally when it came to taking care of those boys when it came on the basketball court. I felt like I was part of my job. By taking a file or fine. We need these healthy. We need to play OG fam. We got another exciting week of hoops coming up and I've got the perfect way to get you even closer to the action on the court right now. 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