Dwyane Wade is the best player in the history of the Miami Heat franchise and, for parts of the 2018 postseason, he was the best player on the floor for the current squad, even at the age of 36. However, the future Hall of Fame guard’s future isn’t exactly certain, even with the caveat that he has said publicly he wants to remain in Miami for any future portion of his career.
Following the NBA Draft on Thursday evening, Heat president Pat Riley addressed the elephant in the room with regard to Wade and passed along that nothing has been decided about his future.
“I haven’t talked to Dwyane,” Riley said, via Anthony Chiang of the Palm Beach Post. “I’ve talked to his agent. I think now over the next nine days between now and July the 1st, now we can focus on all these things. We’ve shared texts. He’s communicated on a regular basis with a lot of people in the organization, but nothing has been decided with Dwyane. We want to have Dwyane back obviously, but there’s been no discussion about next year.”
The Associated Press (h/t Miami Herald) has reported that Wade isn’t likely to accept a financial offer less than Miami’s taxpayer mid-level exception, which projects to be in the neighborhood of $5.4 million for the 2018-2019 season. While he is likely worth that in the open market, it would take a very specific situation for Wade to even theoretically consider moving on, creating a leverage situation for the Heat, but one that is complicated given the history between the two sides. Plus Wade has made it clear he wants to stay in Miami for the remainder of his career.
Given all he has accomplished, there is an argument to be made that Wade should be able to essentially dictate his own terms in Miami, at least within reason. Still, the NBA world would almost certainly enjoy another season that includes Wade on the floor and, even without a formal decision, it appears the most likely outcome for that would take place in a Heat uniform.
