Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell/USA Today
Dwyane Wade has informed Miami Heat officials that he will indeed opt out of his contract and become a free agent. Of course, this immediately triggered rumors of where the superstar might be thinking about playing. Could he be looking to link up again with fellow free agent Lebron James? Could he be looking to start an acting career and look into playing in Hollywood?
Let’s not get carried away. There are all types of rumors floating around right now and no one can really tell quite yet which have any truth to them. Free agency officially starts this Wednesday and that is when teams can start courting players. Wade was in the final year of his contract and was scheduled to make $16.1 million. That’s a good chunk of change for the twelve year veteran, but he is looking for a three year deal that will average $16 million a year.
The Heat want their superstar playing in Miami, that is not the issue. Pat Riley and company were hoping Wade would play out this final year of his contract and be willing to negotiate a new deal next season when the salary cap increases. It is also the year a certain free agent named Kevin Durant is expected to test free agency for the first time in his career.
After losing Lebron James last season, I do not believe the Heat will let Wade walk. He has been the face of the franchise his entire career and Miami has a very good roster. After missing almost half of last season with a major health scare, Chris Bosh is expected to be healthy and ready to play. The team drafted Justise Winslow who fell to number ten and is being called the “steal of the night”. Luol Deng has also informed the Heat front office that he will be opting in to his contract and will make $10.2 million this season. The team also expects point guard Goran Dragic to remain with the team. This team can definitely contend in the Eastern Conference which makes it very odd that Wade would leave this team to play for the Lakers, a team with a lot of question marks. Going to the Cavs to join James, who also opted out, could make sense because it would allow Wade to have days off to rest his body over the season. However, it seems unlikely as the Cavs are focused on resigning James, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, and JR Smith.
