Retired NBA players purchasing ownership stakes in franchises is nothing new, and on Friday afternoon, we learned that Dwyane Wade has decided to get in on the fun. In an interview with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Wade revealed that he is purchasing a small ownership stake in the Utah Jazz, which were recently bought by Qualtrics co-founder Ryan Smith.
As Wade explained, he does not want to purchase part of the team just to have it on his investment portfolio or anything like that. Instead, his plan is to have a hands-on role with the franchise.
“This goes way beyond the dream I had to just play basketball in the NBA,” Wade told ESPN. “I’ve seen Shaq do it in Sacramento. I’ve seen Grant Hill do it in Atlanta. I’ve seen Jordan do it in Charlotte. If this partnership is going to be anything like my relationship is with Ryan, there are going to be a lot of things that I’ll want to be involved in.”
Wade and Smith are friends, having known one another since 2019. As Smith explained, he believes that bringing Wade on board is a “perfect fit” for what he wants to accomplish at the helm of the Jazz.
“It wasn’t like we wanted more partners; that wasn’t what we were trying to do,” Smith said. “I want to work with Dwyane on and off the court, on the business side, and so do our partners — because of who he is as a human being and what he’s accomplished. Those are the kinds of people you want around.”
There is no word on how this will impact Wade’s budding broadcasting career, as he’s been a member of Turner’s NBA broadcasts in recent years and is one of the stalwarts on TNT’s Tuesday night studio show. One thing that is clear is that Wade is excited to work with one particular member of the Jazz organization.
“I call him 2.0,” Wade said. “If there’s a player similar to me, it’s Donovan Mitchell.”
