Dwyane Wade scored 10 straight points and is still considering retirement. Sheesh.
Let Dwyane Wade tell it, and 2018-19 will be his final season with the Miami Heat.
But his game is having a different conversation, one that starts its sentences with “Son, let me tell you something”.
The hallmark of Miami’s third preseason game is not the continued high-level effort given by Hassan Whiteside, nor is it that Justise Winslow may have finally found his scoring touch.
Well, those are great too.
However, against the Washington Wizards Friday, the nightly notable was 10 consecutive points manufactured by Wade.
Dwyane Wade scores 10 first quarter points off the bench for the @MiamiHEAT.#NBAPreseason pic.twitter.com/G0UDpwnhZF
— NBA (@NBA) October 5, 2018
The preseason rust that looked to have settled on Wade in the first two preseason games – he shot a combined 5-for-21 from the floor – shook itself off from tipoff, as Wade helped Miami wine and dine its way to a first half lead.
Wade moved around the court like a man not yet resolved to retire.
His pump fakes still send defenders reeling and his jumper smoothed itself out, like it stocked up on an aged bottle of Wade’s 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet.
His impact, albeit localized to the first quarter, leaves Miami staring in the face of an enormous question.
Should the Heat have pulled the trigger on the Jimmy Butler trade?
Wade’s 10-point takeover was the exact opposite type of performance Miami has been used to for the better part of the last two seasons. Without Wade, Miami adopted a buffet style offensive approach, feeding the hot hand while keeping enough options open that everyone is happy.
That style served them well enough, but, as evidenced by Wade’s 28-point performance in Game 2 of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, Miami has and can thrive with a superstar.
The current state of Heat Nation is that the team has not yet finalized a Butler deal.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have asked too much, expecting Miami to perform seppuku with regards to trading its youth, not to mention absorbing Gorgui Dieng’s bulbous contract.
Having stifled the Butler transactions thus far, Miami may have passed on its chance to acquire a true Wade successor.
Ideally Josh Richardson turns into Miami’s next apostle.
But his absence from preseason action hasn’t given proof of his offseason evolution.
If he doesn’t pan out however, Butler represented Miami’s best path to continuing Wade’s presence beyond 2019.
Miami can’t afford to write any max level contracts next summer without some serious one-on-one time with an accountant, so matching Wade’s production capabilities will have to come from within.
Luckily, until the roster is figured out, Miami has a team brimming with chemistry and is one active on defense. Offensive powerhouses might be the difference-makers in close games, but the Heat can hang with anyone with its greedy palms in passing lanes.
Post-2019 might seem like a world away, but the countdown to losing Wade has already begun.