Dwyane Wade has been the face of the Miami Heat for over a decade now, so when he hit free agency, no one really thought he’d be going anywhere at age 34. But just like last year, he and the Heat seem to be struggling over just how much each side values loyalty — and now other teams are taking notice:
Rival teams starting to take Dwyane Wade's free agency seriously, w/ GM's telling @TheVertical they've made multi-year offers to his reps.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2016
Sources: Rival execs expected to speak with Wade on phone today, armed with belief his contract impasse with Heat has him considering move.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2016
This could simply be a negotiating tactic by Wade and/or his agent, trying to drive the Heat’s price up, but for it to happen two years in a row has to be particularly concerning. It seems like the Heat want Wade to take a Dirk Nowitzki/Tim Duncan-style veteran discount so they can spend more on bringing other people in and forming a better team around him, but Wade doesn’t seem to have interest in that.
And that’s fine! He’s been one of the best players in the NBA for years, and he deserves to be paid like it. Plenty of other teams in the NBA would value his ability to score in isolation and defend, not to mention his veteran leadership. Who those teams are remains a mystery (even if we’d love to see him join the old man Spurs), and it remains the less likely scenario, but if other GMs are really daring to dream, why can’t we?
