MIAMI -- A day after Miami's new superstar trio left money on the table, Heat executives tried to put the extra funds to use.
Team president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison met with free agent point guard Derek Fisher for three hours at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in downtown Miami on Saturday and made Fisher a "compelling" offer, an NBA source told ESPNLosAngeles.com.
According to the source, the Heat told Fisher they envision him as their starting point guard and will hold off on offers to other players while he made his decision.
Riley declined to comment to The Associated Press on Saturday.
The Heat face competition for Fisher's services from the Los Angeles Lakers, Fisher's team for the past three seasons.
Sources told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne that the Lakers have made a second offer to Fisher, stronger than the one-year, $2.5 million deal that was originally reported.
Fisher met with Miami the day after the team lavishly introduced LeBron James and Chris Bosh as Dwyane Wade's newest teammates. James, Bosh and Wade all will make less than the $16.6 million they could have commanded next season, giving Miami the chance to lure other players.
"It's about sacrifice now," Wade said.
While Fisher could be a key piece of a championship contender in Miami, he has been part of all five Lakers' championships in the Kobe Bryant era, four of them as a starter.
Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin on Saturday that negotiations with Fisher were "ongoing" and that he wasn't surprised by Fisher's meeting with the Heat.
"I'm in communication with his representative. If something like [a face-to-face meeting when Fisher returns from Miami] is necessary, that's not a problem," Kupchak said. "But it's not like we don't know Derek and Derek doesn't know us, so I'm not sure that's necessary."
James, Bosh and Wade all signed six-year contracts. The value of James and Bosh's deals is nearly $111 million, while Wade took around $107 million. They could have received about $125.5 million apiece if they had taken the maximum value allowed under the current collective bargaining agreement.
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