ESPN: Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh to opt out of contracts

MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade is opting out of his contract and will join LeBron James in free agency, his agent Henry Thomas told ESPN.

Wade will be joined by teammate Chris Bosh, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard.

If that wasn't enough, the Big 3 aren't the only Heat players making the move -- forward Udonis Haslem, also represented by Thomas, is becoming a free agent as well, the agent said.

The moves will provide the Heat with a record $55 million in cap space.

"Dwyane has been the cornerstone of our organization for over a decade, and we hope he remains a part of the Heat family for life," team president Pat Riley said in a statement. "Udonis has been the heartbeat of this team for 11 years. He has sacrificed countless times to make this organization successful, and he is the epitome of what this organization stands for. We look forward to meeting with Dwyane and Udonis and their agent in the coming days to discuss our future together."

Wade, Bosh, James and Haslem are free to negotiate with any team starting at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

Wade and Bosh opt out of two years and about $42 million; Bosh was owed about $20.6 million for next season.

The thinking has long been that Bosh, James and Wade would all opt out and take slightly less money in the short term, with the Heat giving them new long-term contracts in return. That would give Miami plenty of financial flexibility, which it could use to upgrade a team that has won the last four Eastern Conference titles and two of the last three NBA championships.