Last offseason, Dwyane Wade signed a 2 yr/$31 million contract with a player option the next offseason. The next offseason is upon us. Dwyane Wade is looking for a new long term contract and the Heat are reluctant to give it to him. It seemed like a lock for Wade to opt in, but now it isn’t 100%.
Last season, Wade opted out of a 2 yr/$41 million contract to take less money to add talent to a roster that lost LeBron James. He took less money out of respect for the Heat and the desire to win a fourth championship. Now he feels he isn’t getting the respect back from the Miami Heat. He is “open” to leaving if they can’t come to an agreement. This is what his agent Henry Thomas had to say:
“With the amount of time he has spent with the organization, every effort will be made to try to work something out,” Thomas said. “The five times he played for a championship, resulting in three championships, is a significant accomplishment for any professional. We are continuing to talk about a resolution that would be satisfactory to both sides.”
The Miami Heat is the only team Dwyane Wade has ever played for. The 12 year veteran has won three NBA Titles. He has made the All-Star team all 12 seasons and was named the scoring champion in 2009. Wade has the Miami Heat franchise record in games played, minutes, points, field goals made, field goal attempts, free throws made, free throw attempts, assists, steals, steals per game, and turnovers. In 2009, Wade averaged 30.2 points and 2.2 steals which is a single season franchise record in both respective categories. He has been a face of the Heat organization for what seems like a long time.
Wade had another successful season last year averaging 21.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game over 62 games. Those are star numbers. He believes he is still a star player worth star money. The Miami Heat gave Chris Bosh a star, face of the franchise type contract at 5 yr/$118 million. Both Bosh and Wade are the same age.
Would Dwyane Wade ever leave the Miami Heat? He loves the city and the people of Miami. He persuaded LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play in Miami because he was living in paradise. His family made Miami their home and Wade is a member of the Miami community. The people in Miami love Dwyane Wade in return because of his commitment to the team and the city. It would be a heartbreaker to see him leave.
Wade doesn’t have many seasons left on his legs and his window for another title is shrinking. If he left Miami he would find the contract he was looking for immediately. He could form a different Big-3 outside of Miami to give himself the best chance to win another title. If the Miami Heat don’t show Wade the respect he deserves, they will lose the best player in franchise history.
