duncan228
09-15-2009, 11:03 AM
Wade's Posturing for Help Just Part of the Biz (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-wadesposturingforhel&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews
—> —> Dwyane Wade was leaning back in a chair next to a classroom of children at his mother's church on Chicago's South Side. He was preparing for a hectic four-day weekend in support of his Wade's World foundation, running fundraisers for students who are in almost the exact situation he was in when he was a kid. "These kids behave better," Wade said. "When I was that age, I was a pain in the butt for the teachers.
Wade's team, the Heat, can probably empathize. Early in the summer, Wade caused some pains around Miami by noting that another 45-win season is "not enough for me," which has particular weight when you consider that Wade is heading into free agency. But now, Wade says the hand-wringing over that comments he made in July was overdone. And he's right-what Wade was doing, it turns out, was keeping up pressure on the Heat to get better, if not now then next summer.
"As a player, you always want to get better," Wade said. "That is where I am coming from. I am the leader of this team. If things go great, I get the praise. If things go bad, I get the backlash as well. So I am going to voice my opinion. My opinion is to make sure we keep getting better. … That was all my statements were this summer."
Still, the Heat weren't able to upgrade the talent level much. Miami was the No. 5 seed in the East last year, and shouldn't be much better this season. Wade said that there is room for improvement because they've played together for a year now, but Boston, Cleveland and Orlando are again expected to be at the top of the East, with Washington, Atlanta and Toronto improving. It's difficult to see how the Heat can crack into the top of the East.
But this is planned, temporary mediocrity in Miami. One of the misconceptions about the Heat's situation is that Wade somehow doesn't understand that. The Heat are hording cap space to make a big signing next summer. Wade's comments have been taken to mean he is eager to get out of town, but that's not the case. Rather, Wade is stating his displeasure and keeping his free agency at the forefront in order to keep pressure on the team to spend big next summer.
"I can put my suit on and look from a business standpoint and understand that next summer we are going to have the most cap space in the NBA," Wade said. "We can make some moves. I understand that. But if I am asked the question, ‘What do you want?' I am going to say what I want, because I want to make sure we keep going in the right direction. It makes sense for us not to make any dramatic moves now. But I want us to make those moves when the right time comes."
His free agency is Wade's leverage on the Heat. Giving out his opinions-even the pain-in-the-butt opinions-is his best means of exercising that leverage. Expect to hear more of the same throughout the year.
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Wade Not Concerned About Teammate Beasley (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-wadenotconcernedabou&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews
Heat SG Dwyane Wade said he is not concerned about PF Michael Beasley, who has had to spend time in NBA-sanctioned rehab after failing to stick to the rules of a past rehab assignment. Last month, Beasley sent a series of strange messages to his Twitter account, which was later taken down.
“I spoke with him,” Wade told Sporting News. “He has moved on from it. He made a decision, and it created a lot of backlash, but as I always say, Michael Beasley is 20 years old. He is going to make mistakes. It is just unfortunate that Michael said what he said via Twitter because it stuck with people and gave them an impression that is there now, and he can’t take it back. He is in the limelight. He has to understand that.”
SportingNews
—> —> Dwyane Wade was leaning back in a chair next to a classroom of children at his mother's church on Chicago's South Side. He was preparing for a hectic four-day weekend in support of his Wade's World foundation, running fundraisers for students who are in almost the exact situation he was in when he was a kid. "These kids behave better," Wade said. "When I was that age, I was a pain in the butt for the teachers.
Wade's team, the Heat, can probably empathize. Early in the summer, Wade caused some pains around Miami by noting that another 45-win season is "not enough for me," which has particular weight when you consider that Wade is heading into free agency. But now, Wade says the hand-wringing over that comments he made in July was overdone. And he's right-what Wade was doing, it turns out, was keeping up pressure on the Heat to get better, if not now then next summer.
"As a player, you always want to get better," Wade said. "That is where I am coming from. I am the leader of this team. If things go great, I get the praise. If things go bad, I get the backlash as well. So I am going to voice my opinion. My opinion is to make sure we keep getting better. … That was all my statements were this summer."
Still, the Heat weren't able to upgrade the talent level much. Miami was the No. 5 seed in the East last year, and shouldn't be much better this season. Wade said that there is room for improvement because they've played together for a year now, but Boston, Cleveland and Orlando are again expected to be at the top of the East, with Washington, Atlanta and Toronto improving. It's difficult to see how the Heat can crack into the top of the East.
But this is planned, temporary mediocrity in Miami. One of the misconceptions about the Heat's situation is that Wade somehow doesn't understand that. The Heat are hording cap space to make a big signing next summer. Wade's comments have been taken to mean he is eager to get out of town, but that's not the case. Rather, Wade is stating his displeasure and keeping his free agency at the forefront in order to keep pressure on the team to spend big next summer.
"I can put my suit on and look from a business standpoint and understand that next summer we are going to have the most cap space in the NBA," Wade said. "We can make some moves. I understand that. But if I am asked the question, ‘What do you want?' I am going to say what I want, because I want to make sure we keep going in the right direction. It makes sense for us not to make any dramatic moves now. But I want us to make those moves when the right time comes."
His free agency is Wade's leverage on the Heat. Giving out his opinions-even the pain-in-the-butt opinions-is his best means of exercising that leverage. Expect to hear more of the same throughout the year.
*********************
Wade Not Concerned About Teammate Beasley (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-wadenotconcernedabou&prov=tsn&type=lgns)
SportingNews
Heat SG Dwyane Wade said he is not concerned about PF Michael Beasley, who has had to spend time in NBA-sanctioned rehab after failing to stick to the rules of a past rehab assignment. Last month, Beasley sent a series of strange messages to his Twitter account, which was later taken down.
“I spoke with him,” Wade told Sporting News. “He has moved on from it. He made a decision, and it created a lot of backlash, but as I always say, Michael Beasley is 20 years old. He is going to make mistakes. It is just unfortunate that Michael said what he said via Twitter because it stuck with people and gave them an impression that is there now, and he can’t take it back. He is in the limelight. He has to understand that.”