Miami Heat Grab Bag: No More Dwyane Wade Stuff, I Swear

Welcome to a weekly grab bag of thoughts and observations from the past few days in the world of Miami Heat basketball and the NBA.

Let’s Get the Dwyane Wade Stuff Out of the Way

Maybe–Okay, probably–you’re like me and sick of all the Dwyane Wade rumors. But we have to stay on top of it and try to decipher what is smoke and fire or smoke and mirrors. Wade and the Miami Heat aren’t in agreement over something to do over his contract. Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s length. Maybe it’s the font the contract is printed in. We don’t really know.

What we do know–or think we know–is that the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson knows–or thinks he knows–what’s going on. He’s plugged in, we think, because he was the one to first report the impasse in the first place.

Then this.

"A friend of Dwyane Wade has been telling people that Miami’s preference is to give Wade $36 million over three years — $16 million this season, then $10 million and $10 million.That’s quite a difference from Wade’s preference for $60 million over three, according to that friend. Neither the Heat nor his agent is confirming numbers. I would expect that gap to close somewhat, but the question is how much."

I don’t know which “people” this “friend” has been discussion someone else’s business matters with, but he or she is certainly not telling me. But if this $24 million difference is accurate, the Heat and Wade have a lot of talking to do.

I really have a hard time seeing Wade playing anywhere but Miami, but we’ve seen stranger things. A split just seems weird now.

Pat Riley (Courtesy Miami Heat, Instagram)

Speaking of…

Our good friend David Ramil wrote about Pat Riley over at The Cauldron. I found this particular bit interesting and applicable.

"And Riley, as is common with the aged, seems too set in his ways to learn from his mistakes. In fact, he’s poised to do it all over again. At the end of the season, Riley addressed Wade’s ongoing health issues, ones that kept him out of action for 20 games. His quote is remarkable:“He’s got to change the narrative himself about his body and about his injuries and about his missing games… So night in and night out, there’s always the question of whether or not he can or he can’t. And so I’d like to have him try to get past that first hurdle mentally and do whatever he has to do to get himself ready to practice and himself ready to play, each and every night.”It’s tough to support Riley’s assessment that the solution to Wade’s physical issues is psychological but, again, it speaks to a part of us that many would want to embody, which is the ability to simply fight your way through pain by ignoring it. Moreover, it seems that Riley’s appraisal of the injuries and their impact is far different than Wade’s.Rumors suggest that the Heat front office are engaged in testy contract negotiations with Wade, ones that threaten to drive him away from the team after 12 years. Specifically, Wade has given up millions over the course of his career, often taking deals for lesser amounts to provide the team flexibility to add other quality players; he did it most notably in 2010 to help sign James and again in 2014 following his departure.And while you could argue that Wade’s health concerns would put his value at less than the reported $23 million he’s seeking, the lowball figure of under $10 million allegedly offered by Riley seems ludicrous and just a little insulting."

David relates that quote from Riley on Wade to what Riley had to say about LeBron James and the gang after last season, challenging them to “get a grip” and stick together. That didn’t work. Who knows if Riley’s public posturing will push Wade away (he doesn’t have one foot in Cleveland like LeBron did, after all) but this press conference bullying has never been my favorite thing. I like a lot of things better. Like beer. And Dwyane Wade playing for the Heat.

Don’t Worry

Chris Sheridan, who swore up and down LeBron was going to Cleveland, says Wade is staying in Miami.

"“They definitely end up settling this and definitely Dwyane stays in Miami,” Sheridan said on the Big O Show on Tuesday. “You can take that to the bank.“You can afford to pay Dwyane Wade $20 million when he’s 36 years old if it’s only eating up 15-18 percent of your payroll. If it’s eating up 40 percent or 30 percent of your payroll, which is recent history and the present, then it’s going to make you stop and think. But, with so much money coming into the system and the cap taking such a monumental leap, Dwyane wants to get paid and the Heat will have the money to pay him.”“There’s no way they’re going to let Dwyane Wade walk in a fight over money,” Sheridan said. “Dwyane Wade will play for the Miami Heat for the rest of his career.”"

[Via CBS Miami]

So there you have it, before Wade has even officially opted out, and while everyone else is saying there is a difference in contract talks, Sheridan says it’s a done deal before anything has really began. As they say…

Keeping Up With Hassan Whiteside

So we already know the Heat are keeping Hassan Whiteside close to home with a specific offseason development program. But what, specifically, is the 7-footer working on?

Why, guard skills of course!

What guard skill is obviously missing?

Passing is absent.

It’s well documented that Whiteside didn’t pass last season. Maybe he just forgot to mention it, maybe he hasn’t been working on it. Maybe “everything” includes passing. Let’s hope it’s that. I’m not under the impression that Whiteside absolutely needs to improve his passing stats, but he should at least be able to do it.

Some Good Stuff

Check out the All U Can Heat staff’s Amateur Mock Draft and don’t yell at us when you see who the Miami Heat pick.

In the spirit of the NBA Finals, we look back on the top five Miami Heat moments in NBA Finals history.