After LeBron James decided to go home, Pat Riley made sure Chris Bosh decided to keep his home in Miami.
In the wake of losing James to the Cavaliers, Riley quickly offered Bosh a full five-year maximum contract — worth $118 million total — to keep the versatile power forward from going to Houston, which was prepared to offer him a four-year max contract that arguably would have given the Rockets the best starting five in the league.
Keeping Bosh — who won’t sign the contract anytime soon, given he has spent the past several days out of the county on a globe-spanning vacation — was a critical move for Riley and the Heat, who are now expected to re-sign Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem. They also have begun pursuing other supporting pieces, including Luol Deng and Trevor Ariza, to surround Wade and Bosh with as much talent as possible as they try to retool and make another run in the suddenly wide-open Eastern Conference.
LAKERS: Taking advantage of Houston’s willingness to shed contracts off its books in advance of what, at the time, looked like an imminent commitment from Bosh, Los Angeles acquired Jeremy Lin and a future first-round pick.
The Lakers, now out of the running for both James and Carmelo Anthony — who will choose between the Knicks and the Bulls — then quickly moved to lock up shooting guard Nick Young for four years and $21.5 million, and also re-signed forward Jordan Hill for two years and $18 million.
Those two moves ensured Pau Gasol will be playing elsewhere next season, with his options reportedly down to the Bulls, Spurs, Thunder and possibly the Knicks.
SUNS: Phoenix and the Kings agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that sent point guard Isaiah Thomas to the Suns in exchange for the draft rights to Alex Oriakhi and the creation of a $7 million trade exception for Sacramento.
Thomas averaged 20.3 points and 6.3 assists for the Kings last season, and will give Phoenix a triumvirate of explosive point guards, including restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. The Kings made their feelings known about Thomas when they agreed to a three-year deal with Darren Collison.
WARRIORS: Former Nets point guard Shaun Livingston officially signed a three-year, $16 million deal he agreed to last week.
The Warriors said Livingston had a sprained right big toe from the playoffs, and will be in a cast for three-to-four weeks before being re-evaluated.
GRIZZLIES: Vince Carter agreed to a three-year, $12 million deal with Memphis, according to Yahoo! Sports.
The former Nets and Raptors star has reinvented himself as a sixth man with the Mavericks, where he averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season. Carter will replace Mike Miller, who is close friends with LeBron James and could find his way to Cleveland.