Dwyane Wade: The Impact Of His Contract Negotiations

The Miami Heat were expecting a busy offseason, looking to sign key free agents and select a quality player in the upcoming draft. But recent contract negotiations with Dwyane Wade, which are rumored to have taken a very bad turn, was not part of this summer’s agenda.

Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson was the first to break the news on Thursday afternoon:

"The Heat and Dwyane Wade have been discussing potential resolutions of his contract situation and there’s a significant difference in what both parties believe he should be paid for the next three seasons, according to multiple sources. Though Wade prefers to stay with the Heat, where he has spent his entire 12-year career, he is now open to considering other teams this summer if the Heat does not raise its offer…"

Wade has a player option for the upcoming season, one which was expected to pay him $16.1 million. Jackson explained that Wade, should he opt out, is looking for a “lucrative three-year deal that would extend past his 36th birthday.”

The Heat guard has hinted this past summer that he knows exactly when he’ll retire and it seems that, assuming the length of the contract is the correct time frame, he wants to play until the end of the 2017-18 season.

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The question becomes what Wade considers “lucrative,” which is seemingly a far cry from what the Heat consider a good value.

Reactions to the news have varied from one extreme to the other. Wade fans are eager to cry out, “Pay him what he wants!” while others think that his request, considering his age and injury history, could hinder the team from competing for a championship. There’s a precedent for this, playing out across the country, where Kobe Bryant‘s huge contract has been and continues to be a burden on the Lakers’ franchise.

Still, the situation in Miami is just different enough where a breakdown of the impact is necessary.

Heat president Pat Riley has long maintained that the team was looking for financial flexibility in 2016, when noted free agents (such as Kevin Durant) become available. Riley has always swung for the fences and we’ve seen this play out a number of times before, most recently in 2010 when the team signed LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play alongside Wade.

The plan changed slightly when all three players opted out last summer and James’ departure to Cleveland forced Riley to re-sign Bosh with a max-level deal. Wade chose a less-expensive contract, seemingly to help Miami keep their hopes of salary cap flexibility in place.

But it changed even more due to the emergence of Hassan Whiteside.

Whiteside was brought in at a very team-friendly two-year deal. Had he not panned out, the cost would have been easy to bear for the Heat; instead, they got the best value in the entire NBA. Many NBA fans feel that Whiteside’s importance to the team is overstated. To them, he’s still a relatively unknown factor, not yet proven on the “big stage.” It didn’t help matters that Miami missed the playoffs and the opportunity to showcase one of the biggest surprises of the past season.

Whiteside accelerated the timetable for Riley – with him at the pivot, Riley is convinced that Miami is a legitimate and immediate title contender. That led to the acquisition of Goran Dragic via a midseason trade.

Lest you assume this is also an exaggeration, one can look to the Eastern Conference playoffs as strong support of Riley’s faith. A devastated Cleveland Cavaliers team is in the NBA Finals, largely due to James’ strong play and surprising production from role players like J.R. Smith and Matthew Dellavedova.

But a Miami starting lineup of Dragic/Wade/Luol Deng/Bosh/Whiteside would definitely have been a contender, especially given Deng’s ability to harass James (as no one can really “stop” LeBron but LeBron).

Instead, Bosh’s season-ending injury derailed the plan for this year. But next season….

Riley’s hope was to re-sign Dragic, have Bosh and versatile forward Josh McRoberts return to full health and, with a top-10 draft pick and other young players with a year to develop, contend for a championship in a mediocre Eastern Conference.

Not surprisingly, the plan has changed yet again.

Deng may opt out of his deal, looking to secure a multi-year contract as his career winds down. Wade, as per Jackson’s report, is looking to do the same. If both players take the option, what happens next?

In Deng’s case, it’s likely that he leaves the team for a rumored four- or five-year deal that could pay him less than the $10 million he’s set to receive from Miami. There are options to replace him, although none that seem like an upgrade.

Wade, of course, is another matter. The franchise cornerstone for the past 12 seasons, replacing him is impossible. Perhaps his production could be duplicated by top-tier player but his overall impact in South Florida is unique. The worst-case scenario is that Wade, angered by a perceived lack of respect by Riley and the team’s front office, joins another team. It’s not unthinkable, despite what some desperate Heat fans want to believe. The team would be destroyed by superstar departures in consecutive seasons.

Moreover, Deng would likely leave to a contender willing to pay him and Dragic, who’s established a rapport with Wade on the court, would join another suitor (likely the New York Knicks or, ironically, the Los Angeles Lakers). A Heat team with Bosh and role players would be in full rebuilding mode. Only a duplication of 2010 could return the team to prominence.

While this is the least ideal option for Miami, it also seems the least likely. Jackson’s report, although factual, may be more sky-is-falling commentary than anything else. Wade is certainly happy in Miami and the team feels the same way. Riley is likely willing to meet Wade’s demands (although he’s certainly parted ways with other beloved players in the past after failed negotiations, notably Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway).

That impacts the team’s ability to re-sign Dragic (who is reportedly seeking a contract worth $20 million per year). Miami could (barely) afford to have Wade, Bosh and Dragic on the roster but will be paying a huge luxury tax as a result. Deng would likely be moved via trade, along with McRoberts, Mario Chalmers or any other current player on the roster. Riley’s plan for a title would be dashed yet again with such a top-heavy roster that lacks quality depth.

And there’s Whiteside, of course, whose departure from the team is all but assured.

Keeping him in the fold would only have worked if Wade had restructured his contract for less money, not more. The team remains confident that Whiteside will continue developing offensively, learning how to effectively pass out of the low post and become a dangerous defender similar to the Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (who was absolutely embarrassed by Whiteside on a nationally-televised game this season).

That’s why Wade’s unexpected demands represent such a lose-lose situation. The team could give in to his demands and hinder any chance at contention over the next few seasons. Or the team could play hardball and watch Wade walk away, and leave a void in the franchise that could never be replaced.

Clearly the former option is a more desirable one but Riley could gamble (as he has before) on acquiring another historically-great group of free agents next year to make up for Wade’s absence. And while losing Wade would be devastating, the blow of his departure would be softened by winning a title with a new influx of superstar players.

A summer that was expected to be much more free from drama than 2014 has suddenly become a whole lot more interesting.

Next: 2015 NBA Finals Preview

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Miami Heat: The Impact Of Dwyane Wade’s Contract Negotiations

By David Ramil | May 29, 2015

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