The answer is complicated. Is Wade considering it? Probably lightly. Will he actually do it though? Probably not.
Dwyane Wade is one of the best shooting guards of all time, but for the duration of his career–he’s spent all 13 seasons in Miami–he’s rarely been paid as such. Here’s a pretty short list of the guys who have had more lucrative contracts then Wade as his teammates.
- Eddie Jones
- Jermaine O’Neal
The list is longer, but those are really the only two names you need to see. So, you can pretty much understand why Wade is making sure he secures the bag this time around. Two summers ago, he opted out of a very lucrative deal to afford Miami the space to bring LeBron James back. When LeBron left, he was left with a team that wouldn’t make the playoffs, and a ton of money left on the table. Double-whammy.
Wade and LBJ are best friends, so there’s no love lost between the two. So much so, that rumors have begun swirling that Wade is in preliminary talks to join King James in Cleveland and form yet another super team. One could argue that James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are already a super team of sorts, but the addition of Wade would take them to another dimension, or at least closer to the dimension the new-look Golden State Warriors are currently in, now that they’ve added Kevin Durant to the fold.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst is known as the “LeBron Whisperer,” but he’s been known to be privy to some substantial Miami Heat rumors as well. His most recent report on the Wade situation suggests that Wade and Miami are $10 million apart from an agreement that would elicit handshakes and champagne. Though reconnecting with LeBron in Cleveland seems like a logical next move, the Cavs would be forced to lowball the 3-time champ even more, which makes that an unlikely destination.
Still, if Pat Riley and the Heat, who Windhorst describe as “salary cap-strapped,” can’t find a way to get Wade that extra $10 million, the market could open up to much more than the Denver Nuggets and the recently canceled Milwaukee Bucks.
