We play the “is Dwyane Wade actually going to leave Miami?” game almost every summer. It seems outlandish to think that Wade would go anywhere else in free agency, but for the last few offseasons, we’ve listened to the rumors that maybe this is the year that Wade finally packs up his stuff and goes elsewhere.
The thing with that rumor is that it’s always floated out there, but we never hear of it going past “this is a thing that might happen.” Until today, that is, when ESPN’s Brian Windhorst went on 790 The Ticket and said that Wade’s camp is getting in touch with other teams.
The transcription below comes courtesy of Pro Basketball Talk’s Dan Feldman:
Over the last 24, 72 hours, Dwyane’s representatives have been calling around the league to several teams. Not to every team, not to 29 teams, but to a few teams and have said to them, “Hey, Dwyane is going to be available and is going to take offers.”
This is interesting, sure, but it’s not crazy to think that there’s nothing to this because we don’t know which teams Wade’s representatives are contacting. However, Windhorst continued on the subject and mentioned two teams that Wade’s camp has talked to: the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks.
The most likely scenario is that Wade decides to go back to Miami, of course. But let’s say the Heat manage to re-sign Hassan Whiteside to a big deal, even though that seems a little up in the air right now. And let’s say Pat Riley decides that there’s no feasible way to make sure Wade gets paid and the team’s roster — which isn’t exactly loaded right now — is upgraded. Could Wade get low-balled in Miami’s attempt to build a more well-rounded team, which leads to him seeking greener pastures?
There’s a ton that needs to happen. Heck, there’s no indication that either the Spurs or the Mavs would want to sign a 34-year-old shooting guard who isn’t a good three-point shooter and has a checkered injury history. But Wade leaving Miami would still be a big move, and it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out and seeing if he is actually willing to play elsewhere for the first time in his professional career.
