Chris Paul, unlike Pat Riley, is not surprised that Dwyane Wade left the Miami Heat for the Chicago Bulls.
But that’s probably just because Wade informed him, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James of is decision in their group text. Or something like that.
Per the Daily Herald‘s Mike McGraw:
“I wasn’t that surprised (about Wade),” Paul said. “You’re talking about one of my best friends. I’m just happy for him. Chicago got not only a great player but a great guy. For him to be coming home, you guys got a treat.”
Asked whether Wade sought help in making the decision, Paul made it sound like he was involved every step of the way.
“We talk about everything,” Chris Paul said. “It doesn’t matter if he asks for our advice, me and LeBron (James) are going to give him our opinion all day long.”
Whoa. Timeout. Paul mentions LeBron and himself, but no Melo? Is there trouble in paradise? Does this just show that Melo is actually on the outside looking in at the banana boat fam? Will they all join forces without him one day? This is big. It’s serious. Let’s read into it and draw conclusions we probably shouldn’t.
Okay, just kidding.
Truth told, Wade’s decision to leave Miami probably shouldn’t have shocked us. This wasn’t 2014 or even last summer. The Heat clearly weren’t going to assemble a contender, and there was more money floating around the NBA than ever before.
Bake in the fact that Wade flirted with joining the Bulls during 2010 free agency, along with his Chicago roots, and the whole thing really isn’t surprising. Maybe it’s unexpected, but tensions between Wade and the Heat have been building for a while. It’s only fitting they reached their peak now, when so much has changed. On some level, we should have seen this coming—at least in the days leading up to his decision.
Of course, it would have helped if we, like Paul, were texting Wade and offering our opinion. Then we definitely would have seen his exit from Miami coming.
