Who is to blame for Dwyane Wade leaving the Miami Heat?

Pat Riley

I’m going to see Allana’s unpopular take and raise her one: Dwyane Wade’s departure falls solely at the feet of Pat Riley.

He’s received major credit for bringing the Big 3 together in 2010, when it seems more and more likely that LeBron gave his allegiance to Dwyane and not Pat. Then there was the whole debacle of possibly forcing LeBron out the door in 2014. Whether or not Cleveland had been in LeBron’s heart, Riley’s comments publicly and privately did nothing to make it harder decision for LeBron.

He also practically sold the farm for Goran Dragic, trading two first round picks to acquire him and giving him a max contract a year later. While Dragic isn’t a terrible player, he’s also not an All-NBA level talent at the position. So to give up so much for him, was odd at best. Leaving an aging roster with 3 draft picks over the next five years puts immense faith and pressure on Free Agent recruiting to be lights out, and we’ve struck out three years in a row now.

Which brings us to Dwyane. Wade has sacrificed money and essentially his prime to not only accommodate LeBron, but to make Riley look good. Helping the Heat be more salary cap friendly seemed like a good idea at the time, but Wade was never recouped with long-term security for his sacrifices. Also, the idea of Riley never having the heart to speak to Wade personally, whether or not the plan was to force him out the door, was cowardice at its finest. This, of course, is the complete opposite of the gut check Riley tried to pull on LeBron in 2014.

I know we all treat Pat Riley like he’s some mythical creature, but he’s a very mortal man when it comes to his GM moves and business tactics. – Kristopher Keaton

Next: No One