Reports: Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade still at a stalemate

In the wake of Kevin Durant’s free agency decision, the Miami Heat have turned their attention to re-signing Dwyane Wade. Stay up to date with the latest.

Update, 7/6/16, 5:40 PM: Dwyane Wade’s meeting with Heat owner Micky Arison is over.

Stay tuned.

Update, 7/6/16, 1:53 PM: Dwyane Wade’s meeting with the Bucks is over, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. Stein also notes that Wade is a fan of Bucks guard Khris Middleton.

Update, 7/6/16, 1:50 PM: Dwyane Wade will sit down with Miami Heat owner Micky Arison today.

Update, 7/6/16, 1 PM: Dwyane Wade and the Denver Nuggets just concluded a 2.5 hour meeting, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Wade also has meetings scheduled with the Bulls and Bucks.

Update, 7/6/16: According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, Micky Arison will meet with Dwyane Wade personally, in an attempt to rebuild the relationship between the team and the free agent guard.

Former teammate Mike Miller is helping to recruit Wade to the Nuggets.

All-Star guard Jimmy Butler is apparently trying to recruit Wade to his hometown Chicago Bulls.

Update, 7/6/16: According to Ethan Skolnick, the Cavs are out of the running for Dwyane Wade.

Update, 7/5/16, 11:43 PM: The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Dwyane Wade will meet with the Denver Nuggets Wednesday.

The Nuggets, according to the report, are prepared to offer a deal worth an average of $26 million per season, substantially more than Miami’s latest offer of $20 million per.

Update, 7/5/16, 10:25 PM: TNT’s David Aldridge reports that LeBron James will not take the veteran minimum in order to facilitate a Dwyane Wade signing for the Cavs.

Update, 7/5/16, 9 PM: In a column for the Miami Herald, Dan Le Batard writes that the Cavaliers are serious contenders for Dwyane Wade’s services because LeBron James–who reportedly signed a $1 billion life-time deal with Nike–can afford to take a pay cut in order to facilitate a bigger deal for Wade.

"The Heat prides itself on lifers and loyalty and family, but the relationship with Wade has been contaminated by business. His relationship with James is more personal. And that’s where things become soap-opera interesting: Because James, power broker and paradigm-shifter, is in a position to either make the financial sacrifices to steal Wade to Cleveland outright by taking the minimum or merely create the game-of-chicken leverage that forces Miami to pay Wade too much because of the threat of its beloved icon going to join him in Cleveland. The Cavs are the only legitimate contender among the teams said to be interested in Wade; but Cleveland is also the only place Wade could go where Heat fans would blame him and not stubborn management for losing him. Riley can dare Wade to go to Denver or Milwaukee over dollars; he can’t dare him to go to Cleveland."

This could be a way for LeBron to pay back his friend Wade, who turned down some $10 million in 2013 to make room for a max contract for him, before he decided to return to Cleveland.

Update, 7/5/16, 2:19 PM: The relationship between the Heat and Dwyane Wade has been described as “ugly,” and Wade feels that the organization hasn’t prioritized him, according to the Miami Herald’s Ethan Skolnick.

Skolnick also reports that while Wade joining LeBron James in Cleveland is an option, but also a “long shot” since the Cavs can’t offer anything more than the mid-level exception of $3.48 million. Skolnick does caution, though, that this isn’t just Wade positioning for more money from the Heat.

"So [the Cavs] would need to make multiple deals to accommodate more salary. Or James would need to take a historically large cut, which wouldn’t sit well with the players’ union, but maybe he doesn’t care about that. He repeatedly told me, when I was covering the Cavaliers during the 2014-15 season, how much he missed Wade. That may be priceless.But Heat fans should be concerned.This is officially more dangerous than last season. It’s two offseasons of bad feelings."

Update, 7/5/16, 1:38 PM: According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Dwyane Wade is seeking a guaranteed third year. The Heat have offered a two-year deal worth $40 million, with an opt out clause after the first season.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, however, Wade is seeking $50 million over two years. The Heat simply don’t have the cash to match that offer, while the Nuggets and Bulls do and remain in the running, according to the report.

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman tweeted earlier that Wade could be waiting to see if the Heat can trade Josh McRoberts, which would open up the necessary cap space to give Wade that extra $5 million this season.

Original post: The Miami Heat are offering Dwyane Wade $40 million over two years, according to multiple reports. The offer was first reported by ESPN’s Dan Le Batard, and also included a player option after the first year.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Wade is mulling the offer, which the Heat are leaving on the table.

"According to the party familiar with the negotiations, the Heat offer, which is for a flat $20 million for each of the two seasons, would allow Wade to opt out after the first of the two seasons and re-enter free agency again next summer, when the NBA salary cap is again expected to make another quantum leap.Wade earned $20 million on a one-year deal this past season, but salaries for commensurate players have exceeded that figure since Friday’s start of NBA free agency.Wade apparently is seeking additional years at such a rate or higher from the Heat."

The Heat are rather strapped for cash, with only a little more than $20 million in cap space available after Hassan Whiteside agreed to sign to a max deal. If Wade signs for something near the max, they wouldn’t have much else outside of the room exception of $2.9 million. Outside of that, they could still offer free agents the league minimum.

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Neither side is wrong here. Wade is clearly seeing some of the deals being signed this summer and knows he could command a hefty salary in the open market. He’s made it known that he wants to stay in Miami, but all bets of hometown discounts are off with this spiked salary cap.

Wade signed a one-year, $20 million deal last season, and the Heat clearly hope he’ll sign a similar deal in order to maintain cap and roster flexibility next season. There seems to be a belief that Wade would be willing to take less if the Heat could convince a star to sign in Miami.

However, if Wade does want more years and more money, the Heat could offer a third year, with raises after years one and two. But that could limit the future flexibility that Pat Riley and the Heat value.

read more: After Durant's decision, Heat need to lock up Dwyane Wade

With Durant now off the table, the Heat have some decisions to make. On one hand, they would be wise to maintain their flexibility for a vaunted 2017 free agency class. On the other, this dance with Wade could get old fast, and locking up the franchise star would be a strong reflection of loyalty by the front office.