LeBron James put the NBA on notice Thursday night, joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

Ending weeks of will-he-or-won't-he speculation, the two-time MVP said Thursday night that he's decided to join the Heat and leave the Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the ring he covets.

"I can't say it was always in my plans, because I never thought it was possible," James said on a made-for-LeBron live show on ESPN. "But the things that the Miami Heat franchise have done, to free up cap space and be able to put themselves in a position this summer to have all three of us, it was hard to turn down. Those are two great players, two of the greatest players that we have in this game today."

Olympic teammates in Beijing, James, Bosh and Wade all helped deliver the gold.

This time, it'll be about a gold trophy: the NBA championship Wade got in 2006; the one that James and Bosh have yet to touch.

"Winning is a huge thing for me," James said from a studio in Greenwich, Conn., where an audience of kids from the Boys and Girls Club was present for the announcement.

James said on ESPN he has yet to work out a contract with Miami.

"Well, the numbers are not finalized. I think my agent, Leon Rose, will take care of that," James said. "But all three of us are ultimately going to take less money because we wanted to all play alongside each other, and we feel like we can be great together. And hopefully [Heat president] Pat [Riley] and the rest of those guys, [Heat owner] Micky [Arison], can bring some guys in to help us out, which we believe."

Sources told ESPN.com that Toronto and Miami are expected to finalize a sign-and-trade for Bosh by week's end. The Raptors would receive draft picks and a trade exception and Bosh would be able to land a six-year deal instead of five years thanks to the deal, according to sources.

It's a huge victory for the Heat, which got commitments from Wade and Bosh on Wednesday. That duo, along with James, formed the upper echelon of the most-celebrated free-agent period in league history.

Riley landed them all, a three-pack of stars to help shape his quest for a dynasty in Miami.

"There's magic in the number 3," Wade said, a nod to his jersey number.

One of the issues James faced was having the uniform No. 6 available to him in Miami.

A source told ESPN.com Friday that wouldn't be a problem.

James disclosed last season that he planned to switch his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 for the 2010-11 season as a tribute to Michael Jordan.

A league source told ESPN.com that Heat guard Mario Chalmers has already submitted a request to the league office to switch his jersey from No. 6 to No. 15 for next season.

No. 23 would not have been available to James in Miami, as the Heat have retired that number in honor of Jordan.

James jokingly told ESPN he would "give Mario a call and see if we can work something out."

Riley said in a statement the Heat were "thrilled" to add Bosh and James to a roster that already features Wade.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity of building something that our fans in Miami will be proud of for a long, long time," Riley said. "The journey is just beginning."