Still Wade County?

          Yes, I did wait a few weeks before writing this just in case Dwyane Wade decided to have a DeAndre Jordan-like change of heart and come back to Miami. But snapchats from Chicago & photoshoots in his new Bulls uniform, it appears the dust has settled on this matter. Then reality sets in that the best player in Miami Heat history just left, not retire with Miami like we all expected, but actually left for another team. Knowing how humans are, we have to put the blame on somebody. Whether it be Pat Riley for pretty much ignoring Wade this summer, putting all his focus on getting Kevin Durant to Miami (unsuccessfully) and not giving Wade the contract he wanted; or Wade for doing the unthinkable and actually leaving with all that talk about loyalty and being a Heatlifer. In reality, Wade has been loyal to Riley and Miami for his whole career but they didn’t take care of him when the time came. As the saying goes, “don’t let loyalty make a fool out of you.” It’s rarely talked about but Wade took many sacrifices (mainly financial) to bring Miami its first three NBA championships. Wade took pay cuts to bring superstars to Miami and was never the highest paid player on this team in his career. So this time around in free agency, it could be best said that all he wanted was a reimbursement on the money he lost out on, which was estimated to be over $20 million. Riley didn’t budge so Wade left.

            Personally, as my head cleared from the bias, Wade was right to leave. From him being treated like a second-rate player the last couple of years and not getting his wishes fulfilled, it was only a matter of time. And deep down, I honestly feel like Pat Riley wanted to move on from an aging 34-year-old Wade. Whether it’s true or not the Don couldn’t give Wade no more than $40 million over two years, he is scrapping bits of the past and looking toward the future. The only question now is what’s going to happen to Bosh. Blood clots & conversations that it would be in his best interest to retire, that puts the Heat in a tough situation regarding his contract. But that is an article for another day, best wishes to Bosh on whatever he decides to do.

            Back to Wade…the Miami Heat career leader in points, assists, steals, field goals, games & minutes played, free throws, second in blocks and fourth in rebounds. Best season was arguably the 2008-2009 season where he posted career highs in points (30.2), assists (7.5), steals (2.2) and blocks (1.3), while averaging 5 rebounds a game and shooting 49% from the field. 3 NBA championships with a Finals MVP in 2006, 12-time NBA All-Star with 1 MVP in 2010, 2-time All-NBA First Team, 2009 scoring champion and a Gold Medal with Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Wade is a surefire 1^st ballot Hall of Famer. 

Now that he’s gone, Pat Riley and the Heat have to rebuild (or reload?) around the only one doing it with blocks, Hassan Whiteside. We also have young promising talent in Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson & Justise Winslow. Dion Waiters (4^th overall pick in 2012) will look to revive his career with the Heat after a slump in OKC & Briante Weber (a 3-time Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year) will be starting his career off in Miami after making the jump from the D-League. With the Flash out of the picture, many Heat fans are now looking past this upcoming season to the 2017 free agency race.

There were rumors that Miami could be a potential landing spot for Russell Westbrook but at the time of this writing, he just signed a 3 year $85.7 million extension with the Thunder so that dream scenario is dead. In the meantime, with superstars LeBron James & Dwyane Wade long gone, it looks like Miami Heat basketball will fall off the relevancy map. And for those that don’t think so, this will be the first season since 2008 that the Heat will not play a Christmas game.

Some say Wade transformed Miami into a basketball town (we will always be a football town). Some say the Heat are doomed for the foreseeable future. Others, including me, say with Micky Arison & Pat Riley in the driver’s seat, we will bounce back like we always do. But a Miami Heat team without Dwyane Wade is still a crazy picture to wrap my head around. But like MJ & the Bulls, Kobe & the Lakers, Wade will always be a Miami Heat and Dade County is still Wade County.