As the Miami Heat recover from a stinging loss in the NBA Finals to the new kings of the NBA the San Antonio Spurs, the latest NBA free agency rumors have sparked a firestorm of discussion after word broke out that the current NBA champion Heat would seriously pursue New York Knicks star-turned-free agent Carmelo Anthony this summer.

While all three members of Miami's, vaunted "Big Three" in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, are eligible to become free agents after the season ends, the Knicks' Anthony, who won the league's scoring title last season, will undoubtedly be the most sought-after free agent star on the market now that he had reportedly informed the Knicks that he was opting out of his contract this past weekend.

Speaking in theoretical terms, the addition of Anthony to the Heat's starting lineup would be a major coup for the boys from South Beach. Anthony's torrid scoring combined with the world-beating abilities of James, the all-around skill of Wade and the key down-low presence of Bosh would make for what, on paper, may be an unbeatable presence on the floor. By the mere virtue of talent alone, a frontcourt of James, Bosh and Anthony would be talked about as possibly the best frontcourt in the NBA and perhaps the most decorated, if not the most talented, in league history.

But is adding Anthony really the best way to go for the Heat? Consider these scenarios:

1. Melo: Does He Play Well With Others?

For the majority of his NBA career, Anthony has been the biggest star on whatever team he's been on -- be it the Denver Nuggets or the New York Knicks. Of course, every superstar needs a strong supporting cast, and Anthony's never truly had that. However, the Knicks did try and put one around him in recent years with the additions of multi-time All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire and former NBA champion and defensive powerhouse Tyson Chandler.

The problem was, while Chandler thrived at center (well, before the injuries), Stoudemire, who has been dealing with a litany of his own injuries since arriving in New York, seemed to struggle when both he and Anthony were in the starting lineup together. In fact, last season, Stoudemire publically stated that a lack of ball movement was hurting the Knicks on offense, which was largely interpreted as a shot at Anthony, who controls the ball on offense most of the time. That has been one of the biggest knocks on Anthony for most of his career: that he can't share the ball or play well with another major contributor on offense.

George Karl, who coached Anthony in Denver, said in March that he didn't think Melo could play on a Phil Jackson-led team. Anthony is a prolific scorer, but Miami has a great thing going for them in South Beach. Could adding the ball-dependent Anthony actually blow up in the Heat's face and disrupt the balanced team chemistry -- which led them to four straight NBA Finals appearances -- which they've worked hard to build over the last four years? Is it worth that risk?

2. A Fab 4 Does Not Guarantee an NBA Title

There is an old theory in the NBA that more stars equals championships.

That has not been the case in every instance. You can align the stars just right, but there must also be a commitment to winning, unyielding dedication to a system and style of play and, above all, chemistry. Those formulas were followed, and worked, for the New York Knicks of the 1970s -- which had five future Hall of Famers on their roster at one time and won two world titles -- and the modern Boston Celtics, who won an NBA title and made two NBA Finals appearances with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. However, for those successes, there have also been massive failures.

Remember the Los Angeles Lakers' 2003-04 season? A team with current and future Hall of Famers in Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton should have guaranteed them a title. What happened? They looked old, slow and awful in a Finals loss that year against a younger, more cohesive Detroit Pistons team whose lone All-Star that year was Ben Wallace.

More currently, let's look at the infamous 2012-13 Lakers season. The Lakers broke the bank on a summer shopping spree that assembled Bryant, Pau Gasol, future Hall of Famer Steve Nash and perennial All-Star Dwight Howard on one team that was supposed to challenge Miami for NBA supremacy. What happened next? Terrible chemistry, multiple injuries, locker room disputes (Howard and Kobe) and other issues saw that team struggle to just barely make the playoffs with the eighth seed, only to get promptly swept by the aging, yet efficient San Antonio Spurs.

LeBron, Wade and Bosh have managed to turn what could have been a train wreck thanks to a logjam of stars into a formula for success. But would adding another unknown element to that mix destabilize that formula?

3. Money Better Spent Adding Stronger Supporting Cast

For the last three seasons, Wade, Bosh and, above all, James' dominance helped hide much of Miami's flaws, like their lack of bench depth. This time around in the Finals, there was no hiding their flaws against a deeper, battle-tested veteran Spurs team. The loss of Mike Miller the previous season hurt Miami badly, Ray Allen began showing his age, and when Mario Chalmers started to struggle, their problems grew. Losing Shane Battier to retirement is going to make things worse next season.

The Heat can't get to the promised land without a strong supporting cast. They need defense, they need youth and they need to get younger perimeter shooters. Without that to surround the Big Three, Miami can't even think about a third world title next season. Maybe instead of shelling out big bucks for a fourth star, the answer is simply gutting their role players from the roster and retooling for guys who can play defense and hit from the outside.

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