Miami Heat Grab Bag: Catching Up On The Dwyane Wade Situation
By Wes Goldberg
Welcome to a (somewhat) weekly grab bag of thoughts and observations from the past few days in the world of Miami Heat basketball and the NBA.
Dan Le Batard On Dwyane Wade
If you haven’t read Dan Le Batard’s column on the contract negotiation between the Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade, you need to. There are enough nuggets in here to feed a 4-year-old’s birthday party.
Among the most saucy nuggets include:
- Wade didn’t think a Big 3 was possible in 2010, until LeBron James brought it up to him.
- Wade wanted everyone to take less money in order to facilitate a new deal for Udonis Haslem. James refused, so Wade took an even more substantial cap hit to keep his longtime teammate around.
It’s interesting now, after both LeBron and Chris Bosh have signed max contracts, that Wade is possibly looking for a raise.
Wade isn’t worth max money right now, and the Heat won’t likely give it to him. Pat Riley’s first priority is going to be cap flexibility in 2016, and signing Wade to a three-year max deal will blow that up. Not to mention that would make signing Goran Dragic (who the Heat traded two future first round picks for) and, eventually, Hassan Whiteside (the lottery ticket the basketball gods placed upon the doorstep of the Miami Heat) to max or near-max deals.
Without taking sides, this is what we know: The Heat simply cannot give Wade a max deal. However, they can’t exactly let him walk either. Wade’s position may not be to sign a max deal, but if the Heat are going to let him test the open market, he could be in for a disappointing realization.
The Initial Offer Was Less Than $10 Million
Of all the rumors I’ve heard, this makes the most sense. Sort of.
According to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick, the Heat’s initial offer to Dwyane Wade was believed to be less than $10 million per season.
Remember, Wade is expected to opt out of his current deal worth about $16 million this season.
Since the original report said the Heat and Wade were at a large disagreement about the money, this report from Skolnick makes sense. Wade has every right to want at least $10 million per year. The Heat are obviously trying to get the super home discount and maintain enough space to chase a high priced free agent in the summer of 2016.
This is what I wrote when the Skolnick first tweeted out that bit of information.
"If you like to look at the glass being half full, the news that the Heat offered so little is reassuring. It means that if the Heat up the ante, it shouldn’t be at a Kobe-level contract. Looking at the glass half empty, it seems Pat Riley and the Heat may not prize loyalty the same way they preached after LeBron James left."
Wade’s Priority
So if Wade wants more than $10 million a year, why not just opt in and get paid $16 million this season and re-sign when the cap jumps up in 2016 and the Heat have a better idea of how much money they can give you?
Here’s the thing, that sounds great, but Wade is prioritizing longterm security over money right now. He’s apparently willing to take less money this season (aka not chase a max deal) and sign a final three-year contract before he retires. That’s, at least, the belief.
Wade’s had injury issues, and has missed 48 games over the past two seasons. Some of that was due to the maintenance program two years ago, but it’s not a secret that Wade’s health has been a constant hurdle.
He’s slimmed down by 10 pounds this offseason and is trying to stay in shape, but who knows how much that will help. Especially if he’s still working the post and doesn’t develop his outside shot.
So Wade is looking for a three year deal that goes beyond 2016, and the Heat want to have an empty book that summer. Here, not the money per se, is the heart of the negotiation.
Wade On Finals Broadcast
Wade will join ABC’s pregame and halftime broadcast for Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals. If the series goes six or seven games, Wade will also be involved in those broadcasts.
Wade has a lot of options after he’s done playing, and broadcasting may be an option for a steady paycheck while he works on fashion lines and other business ventures. This should be fun to watch.
That’s right, Dwyane Wade is back in the Finals! Sort of.
Some Other Good Stuff
Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, and the Price of Loyalty
5 Free Agents Who Can Replace Wade
Check Out the Podcast!
David Ramil and I go all in on this Dwyane Wade situation on the latest Heat Check podcast.