While it’s widely assumed that Dwyane Wade will return to the Miami Heat, that doesn’t mean it’s an absolute certainty. Rumors are swirling about a possible move to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and now, another surprising suitor has come out of the Western conference: The Los Angeles Lakers.
As Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reports, there’s mutual interest between the Lakers and Wade.
While many execs still see Wade/Heat as contract saber rattling, a Wade option will be the Lakers. Mutual interest, per league sources.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 21, 2015
Hard to see LA offering Wade a better chance to win than Miami, especially in the West. But it is LA, and they do have money to burn.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 21, 2015
Mannix raises an important point here. The Lakers have very little to offer Wade in terms of a potential championship, or even a playoff run. What’s more, pairing two aging, ball-dominant shooting guards – Wade and Kobe Bryant – seems like a recipe for disaster (at least for the 50 or so games they’ll actually play). Outside of Bryant, Julius Randle and whomever the Lakers snag with the second pick in the draft on Thursday, there’s just not that much talent on the roster. It also makes little sense for the Lakers, who would be sacrificing the chance to rebuild for an incredibly long shot at a low playoff seed, if that.
The Heat, meanwhile, will have Goran Dragic (assuming he re-signs), Luol Deng, Hassan Whiteside and a fully healthy Chris Bosh. Wade wants money, as he should, but is he going to chase a possibly bigger contract at the expense of another shot at a title? It’s hard to see that happening. If anything, this just seems like an attempt to put more pressure on the Heat to give Wade the contract he desires.
