There’s been another development in the ongoing contract dispute allegedly taking place between Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.
The dispute in question means nothing.
That, or there is no dispute of which to speak.
Maybe Pat Riley was riding the post-draft after scooping up Justise Winslow, a top-five talent, with the 10th pick, or maybe he’s that confident Wade will return, or maybe he’s desperate for Wade to return, or maybe there just isn’t an issue at all. Whatever the case, in light of recent rumors that have financial relations between the Heat and Wade souring, Riley left nothing to chance, telling reporters that the team unequivocally wants the 12-year veteran back in South Beach.
Per Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post:
Pat Riley on Wade: "We respect him. We want him back for the rest of his career. That's obvious. We'll do everything to make that happen."
— Jason Lieser (@PBPjasonlieser) June 26, 2015
That should put Heat fans at ease, assuming, of course, they ever weren’t at ease.
The story goes that the Heat want Wade to opt into the last season of his two-year deal. He’s slated to earn just over $16.1 million in 2015-16 and would enter free agency next summer after the salary cap explodes.
But Wade apparently wants a new deal now, one the Heat are only willing to give if he accepts yet another discount. And the thinking there is Wade doesn’t want to sacrifice anymore, because he’s already sacrificed so much.
Riley himself readily admits that:
Riley on Wade: "Everybody in this organization has sacrificed. The one that has sacrificed a lot for the sake of winning has been him."
— Jason Lieser (@PBPjasonlieser) June 26, 2015
Not only that, but Riley denies reports of a rift:
Pat Riley on Wade feeling disrespected: "That hasn't been expressed to us."
— Jason Lieser (@PBPjasonlieser) June 26, 2015
Amazing.
General managers and team presidents are liars by craft. They cannot be completely candid or wholly open. That’s the nature of the business. Other NBA teams would be in on their closed-door secrets, the inner-most plans for their future.
It’s also not even July 1, when the Heat and Wade can officially begin to talk shop. Any dialogue that’s taken place already has likely been exploratory and informal and won’t accurately reflect the outcome of this situation.
The most likely scenario has always had Wade returning to the Heat, after he and the team find some financial middle ground. Wade has spent his entire career in Miami, winning three championships, and his value to the franchise stretches beyond dollars and cents and statistics, as do his ties to the city and fanbase.
Seeing him leave would be a shock—one the Heat and their fans aren’t prepared for, if only because, in all honesty, he’s not actually going to leave.
