Dwyane Wade has signed a 1-year, $2.3 million deal with the Cavaliers after working out a buyout with the Bulls. The three-time champion will make at least one more run at a title alongside his good friend LeBron James, with whom he won two titles in Miami.
Wade chose the Cavs over a number of suitors, as the Spurs, Thunder, and Heat were all reportedly trying to land the free agent shooting guard. Miami’s interest was appealing to Wade’s sentimental side, as the Heat hoped for a quick reunion after a somewhat sloppy breakup a year ago.
Wade looked at Miami’s current roster and saw them as a team that needed him next year, which is why he chose to go with his old teammate rather than his old team. The Cavs were at once a contender and a team with a hole at shooting guard, whereas the Heat have a young core locked up for many years in the backcourt. While it won’t be this season, Wade knows that one day he’s going to be back in a Heat uniform.
The Heat legend spoke with the Associated Press on Thursday morning about a potential reunion and promised that one day he wants to make sure he retires in a Miami uniform.
“Miami, the door’s always unlocked,” Wade told AP. “One day I want to retire in a Miami Heat jersey. I don’t know how that will happen, but I definitely want to make sure than when I decide to hang it up, that jersey is on. Whether it’s being back there or signing a one-day deal like Paul Pierce, I want to make sure that I go out the way I came in.”
The Heat will undoubtedly accommodate Wade, whether on a 1-year deal or a 1-day deal in the future, he will wear the No. 3 one more time on South Beach. Wade said his wife and son told him to go after another ring rather than simply come home to Miami, and he wanted to be somewhere that could give him a defined, strong role. The Heat just didn’t fit that need.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel they needed me there,” Wade said. “I feel that those guys are in a good place. They deserve to come back this year and see what that 30-11 was about. They don’t need me there over their shoulder or anything like that. That’s kind of how I approached it.”
For this season, Wade will be with LeBron, sipping wine after games and practices and trying to rekindle their on-court magic that led them to two titles with the Heat. At 35 years old, Wade knows the end of his career is on the horizon. It might not be for a few more seasons, but eventually he’ll return to the team that defined his career to make sure he retires in Miami.
