It goes without saying that when you look at the brief history of the Miami Heat franchise, you can break it down into two eras: pre-Dwyane Wade and post-Dwyane Wade.
More from Miami Heat
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Report: Miami Heat hoping to keep key player out of Lillard trade talks
- Grade the Trade: The Heat pass on Lillard to land an MVP in this proposal
- NBA Rumors: Heat have big plans to upgrade frontcourt if they land Lillard
When the Heat drafted Wade out of Marquette with the fifth overall pick in 2003, everyone knew he was a very talented player, but few saw the 6-foot-4 shooting guard becoming the soul of this team. Through roster and coaching changes, seasons where the team made deep playoff runs and years where they missed the postseason all together, Wade has been there.
It was in no small part thanks to Wade that the Heat won their first NBA championship in 2006, his efforts bringing him an NBA Finals MVP trophy.
It was the appeal of playing with Wade that factored heavily into LeBron James and Chris Bosh‘s decision to sign with the Heat in 2010 and launch the Big 3 era of Miami basketball, an era that would result in four NBA Finals appearances and two championships.
When the Big 3 era came to an end, Wade opted out of the final two years of his $41.6 million contract in order to help the Heat control costs and instead signed a two-year deal that would pay him $31 million. The contract includes a player option for the 2015-16 season that will pay Wade $16.1 million that everyone assumed he would take once the current season was over.
Instead, Wade is saying he wants to opt out of his current contract in order to try and get a three-year deal that would take him past his 36th birthday and in all likelihood into retirement. Which would be fine except Miami is already looking towards the 2016 offseason and trying to take a run at the biggest free agent to enter the market since James: Kevin Durant.
The Heat want Wade to opt in for this season and then trust that they will take care of him once the salary cap jumps into the $90 million range. That way they could have enough money to pay Durant as well as Goran Dragic, who is expected to re-sign with Miami, and phenom Hassan Whiteside, who will also be an unrestricted free agent at that time.
If the Heat can actually sign Durant, there is a very real possibility that Miami will be headed back to the NBA Finals. Durant, Bosh and Wade could make for a Big 3 that is actually better than the team was with James, particularly with Whiteside and Dragic along for the ride.
But before any of that can happen, the Heat owe it to Wade to make sure he is taken care of.
Sir Charles In Charge
When you consider that there is no guarantee that the Heat can sign Durant, as most of the league will be flush with new cap space to use and the bidding for Durant looks like it will be intense, and the fact that Wade has consistently over the years put the needs of the franchise first, the responsibility of the Heat is clear.
Pat Riley needs to take care of the player that got him to this point and made the Miami Heat the kind of franchise that James and Durant would want to play for in the first place.
It is no secret that Wade’s body is starting to give out on him. Although he played in more games this past season than in 2013-14 and his numbers were all improved (21.5 points, 4.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds per game) it’s obvious that his time on the court is coming to an end. Is Wade at this point in his career, given his injury history, worth the kind of money he is asking for?
Maybe, maybe not. But there are things that a player brings to a team that can’t be measured in stats. Dwyane Wade brought all of those things to the Heat over the last 12 years and more.
Wade has until late June to decide if he will stay with the Heat or opt out of his contract. It would be a real shame if the Miami Heat let Wade sign with another franchise and finish his career anywhere but in South Beach, where he belongs.