One thing’s for sure, Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge isn’t worried about the Miami Heat.

“We’re the Eastern Conference champions. And we think we’re going to be better next year.” Those were the words uttered by Boston Celtics manager Danny Ainge heading to the 2010 NBA basketball season, a season already proclaiming the trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in Miami the heavy favorites to win it all.

Ainge confirmed that the Boston Celtics have agreements in place with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that would keep Boston’s Big Three intact for a run at a third NBA Finals stint in four years. Ainge also said he expects to sign free agent center Jermaine O’Neal to fill in while center Kendrick Perkins recovers from knee surgery.

A six-time All-Star, Jermaine O’Neal has averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds in a 14-year career for Portland, Indiana, Toronto and Miami. With the Heat last year, he averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28 minutes. However, O’Neal struggled mightily in the playoffs against the Celtics, averaging just 4.2 points per game in the five-game series.

Remaining on Ainge’s list of potential free agents are re-signing longtime Celtics bench player Tony Allen and midseason acquisition Nate Robinson.

“We’re trying to fill our roster in. Once we get this taken care of the next couple of days, then we’ll start working on the next group of guys,” Ainge said. We like Nate and Tony. I’m sure they’re still looking at the market, too, because the market’s pretty crazy right now. So we’ll be patient and look at other options as well in case they go in another direction.”

“We intend to sign him,” Ainge said. “Our priorities to…”

After he got Zydrunas Ilgauskas to leave Cleveland too and join him in Miami, LeBron might really be fucking with Cleveland now.

And in case you didn’t know, yes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is the latest former Cavalier to join and follow LeBron James to the Miami Heat. Add him to the list of players that shapes up to be a serious title contender in Miami, joining not only James but Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as we head closer to the 2010 NBA basketball season.

The veteran center, who started playing for Cleveland in 1997 and has never suited up for another NBA team, signed a two-year contract with the Heat to join former Cavaliers teammate LeBron James. The two-year deal would come with a player option for the second season.

The decision Zydrunas Ilgauskas made became known less than a week after James sparked outrage and outcry in Cleveland by going on a made-for-television special and saying he was joining the Heat. His departure won’t generate the same reaction from Clevelanders, but it’ll hurt more the owner of the Cavs Dan Gilbert.

Ilgauskas was a fan favorite for more than a decade, and when he returned to the Cavs after getting traded to the Washington Wizards this past season, a sellout crowd welcomed him with huge signs bearing the letter “Z”—his moniker. Ilgauskas never played for the Wizards, quickly getting bought out and then returning to Cleveland after a 30-day waiting period.

Playing with James again was a major factor in Ilgauskas’ decision…

Yep, this is the perfect time to jump on the bandwagon.

After last week’s hour-long reality program in which LeBron James announced he would be joining fellow Class of ’03 draftees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, many fans and analysts were quick to crown the Miami Heat as the favorites to not only come out of the Eastern Conference, but to also win an NBA Championship in the 2010 NBA basketball season.

The Miami Heat has undoubtedly one of the best core groups in the NBA, anything less than the championship in the coming season would be considered a failure. Winning a championship takes a lot of things, including luck with injuries and a few bounces to go your way. It’ll be awfully hard, even with a team with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

They are a long way from a title this year. Even with three of the best players walking the planet on one team. The Heat, having sent Beasley to Minnesota for draft picks, have four players under contract and two second-round draft picks on their roster. After spending the vast majority of their salary cap to sign two superstars to join Dwyane Wade, it will be very difficult to sign quality role players to fill out the remainder of the roster.

Taking a look around the rest of the league, the other top teams with multiple All-Star quality players still have other role players on their team who can make strong contributions to their respective teams.

Looking at just the East, one would easily pick Miami to…

The entire city of Cleveland certainly hope not.

The coming 2010 NBA basketball season just got a little more interesting after Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh announced that they will both sign with the Miami Heat.

And since LeBron James, along with Wade and Bosh, have talked about the idea of playing together, does that mean LeBron will announce, on national TV, that he will be playing for the Heat too?

And in case you haven’t heard, yes, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will play together for the Miami Heat, putting that franchise right in the middle of the title chase next year in June. Ending months of speculation, Wade and Bosh announced Wednesday that they’ll sign with Miami, two decisions that vault the Heat back into the NBA championship picture and put them two-thirds of the way to hitting one of the biggest trifectas in NBA history.

You see, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James all have talked about playing together. On Thursday night, James will say why that will or will not happen. “It’s over,” Wade said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s not all over-over, but for me, it’s over.”

LeBron James can’t say that yet.

Dwyane Wade told the Heat that for him to re-sign, the team had to add either LeBron James or Chris Bosh. For good measure, they might get both.

“It had to be one or the other,” Wade said in the AP interview. “Of course, there’s a lot of talented players in this league. But you want to look at players that complement my game, and Chris and LeBron are two of those guys. I had a decision to make. Chris had a decision to make. It wasn’t a lock that he would come to Miami. So I had a lot to think about.”

James averaged 29.7 points for Cleveland last season…

And this time, they’re saying he could pair up with Dwyane Wade in, (drum roll please…) New FUCKING Jersey.

In case you didn’t know, both superstars; LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, will become free agents this summer. And there have been many rumors on whether the two should sign with the same team and if such a pairing would thrive.

The reasons against are, by now, well known. Many say that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade want their own team, won’t share the ball, and won’t take less money and/or term on contracts, which is a must for a co-superstar arrangement to happen.

There is, of course, the economy. League revenues have fallen, so the salary cap for 2010-11 will also fall, which means teams will have less to spend on free agents without triggering the luxury tax. And most owners have less disposable income to spend on NBA teams.

Then again, a LeBron James – Dwyane Wade partnership is still a possibility. It could work on the basketball court and balance sheet.

Being ‘The Man is a necessity. Not a choice. Without great teammates, James and Wade must dominate on-court for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat respectively to have any chance at winning. If being ‘The Man’ was what each truly wanted, they’d have maintained the status quo long ago by inking extensions with their current teams.

Two summers ago, James and Wade accepted lesser roles when…

Add one more marquee name to the most anticipated free-agent class in NBA history.

All-Star forward Paul Pierce has notified the Boston Celtics that he will opt out of the final year of his contract, which will make Pierce an unrestricted free agent for the first time. Pierce’s agent has confirmed Pierce will exercise his early termination option in his contract, leaving over $21 million on the table next season while in pursuit of a long-term contract.

Paul Pierce joins Ray Allen as an unrestricted free agent and will attract his fair share of suitors. The most likely scenario results in Pierce returning to Boston, but either way, this decision will have ramifications for the Boston Celtics and the league.

Even if Pierce signs a max contract, the most he can earn in 2010-11 is $20.8 million — but he’s obviously willing to take a pay cut for one season in exchange for long-term security. And by signing this year, Pierce avoids the uncertainty surrounding the next collective bargaining agreement, which is still being negotiated and will take effect next summer. The new CBA will likely include a reduced salary cap, with a slight chance of a hard cap. By opting out, Pierce enables himself to take advantage of the higher salary structure.

Even as Pierce’s athleticism begins to wane with age, he’s still a top-notch player for a Finals-contending team. That, combined with the sheer number of teams with available cap space, will result in Pierce getting offers. The Celtics’ plan consistently has been to retain Pierce and Allen in order to make one more run with this core. But try to conceptualize a Celtics team with Pierce and Allen playing elsewhere. It’s a possibility, no matter how remote.

Pierce just played a pivotal role in helping Boston to…

Five – time All Star Chris Bosh is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Toronto Raptors.

You read it, leaving more than $17 million on the table, in order to join a free-agent class that could also include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Amare Stoudemire before the 2010-11 NBA basketball season kicks off.

Chris Bosh has said he expects to earn the NBA’s maximum salary on his next contract, and whether he returns to Toronto or joins a new team is anyone’s guess.

”Nobody knows, not even me,” Bosh said as the Toronto Raptors cleaned out their lockers. ”That’s something only the future holds. Everybody keeps looking for answers. There are no answers right now. There will only be answers when it’s time.”

”I wish I knew” Chris Bosh added. ”I’d let everybody know so that everybody would leave me alone.”

With so many big names on the market, Bosh knows plenty of people will be asking questions.

”The possibilities are endless,” he said. ”You can say, ‘He’s going here, he’s going there, what do you think, what’s your opinion?’ It’s good barbershop talk.”

A seven-year veteran, Bosh averaged career highs with 24.0 points and 10.8 rebounds this year. His season ended two minutes into an April 6 game at Cleveland when he was accidentally elbowed in the face by Antawn Jamison. Bosh suffered two facial fractures and required nasal surgery.

The injury dealt a fatal blow to Toronto’s playoff hopes…

I guess the two biggest catches of the 2010 free agency will first talk amongst themselves before signing with any NBA team.

You read it, it seems both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, along with some other big free agents, will be talking amongst themselves before signing with any NBA team for the 2010 NBA basketball season.

According to Dwyane Wade, they have been discussing their futures informally for quite some time now, specifically him, LeBron James and Joe Johnson. ”[Free agency] has been three years coming,” Dwyane Wade told the Tribune.

”We’ve discussed it prematurely, at different times. [But] you don’t know what guys are thinking and where they’re going. I think we’ll all sit down, and before one of us makes a decision, all of us will have spoken to each other and [listened to the] thinking.”

”A lot of decisions [will be based on] what other players are willing to do and what other guys want to do. So it’s not just a ‘me’ situation here. We all have to look and see what each other is thinking.”

According to a source, Chris Bosh will also be joining Wade, James and Johnson when they discuss free agency.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh became close after playing together on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal at the Beijing Games. And while…

Well, at least Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo says keeping Bosh is a priority.

That’s despite the fact that there are rumors claiming that the Toronto Raptors are planning to deal Chris Bosh to the New York Knicks for David Lee in a sign and trade deal once the 2010 NBA playoffs are over.

For now, Colangelo claims he plans to do everything in his power to keep Chris Bosh in Toronto and convince the five-time NBA All-Star to play with the Raptors for at least a few more years.

With perhaps the biggest free agency period ever to hit the league for quite some time coming, the Toronto Raptors could be on the verge of losing their prized forward. With the big guns of the NBA testing free agency all at the same time, with the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade also free agents at the end of the playoffs, Bosh is likely to move on in search of greener pastures.

Of course, Colangelo claims the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere.

”It comes down, really, to what he’s looking to achieve out of free agency,” Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said in a wide-ranging, hour-long state of the union address.

”There’s the thought and speculation that he wants to be a No.1 guy; we have that. If he’s content being a No.2 guy then there are other options for him.”

”This city is a place that has grown fond of him and I think…”

Looks like Garnett has screwed the Celtics over.

Things already got personal in the 2010 NBA playoffs as Kevin Garnett found himself in the middle of an altercation before getting suspended for the following game in their playoff series with the Heat. And mind you, this is only after the very first game of the very first round of this year’s postseason wars.

And in case you’re not paying attention, yup, Kevin Garnett was suspended by the league for throwing an elbow to the face of Miami’s Quentin Richardson in an altercation that occurred late in the fourth quarter with only a few seconds left remaining in the game. The Celtics won that game, 85-76, to take the early 1-0 lead over the Heat in the first round.

With KG suspended, the Boston Celtics will host the Miami Heat in Game 2 without their emotional leader and the only real forward they have who can play defense. Sure, the Celtics can try fill up that hole on Tuesday night with Glen Davis, Shelden Williams and Rasheed Wallace but let’s face it, none of these guys can play D as good as Garnett does.

This gives the Miami Heat a golden opportunity to tie it at a game a piece with the series moving to the American Airlines Arena in Miami for games 3 and 4. If the Heat win both games at home then the Celtics will return to Boston facing elimination from the playoffs in Game 5.

Yup, Kevin Garnett’s suspension could be the turning point in…