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sons seriously even if his team sucks ... he gets to live on South Beach. how ing bad can it be???
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade confirms he'll address contract after season
All-Star Dwyane Wade said he will address his future with the Heat as a free agent next summer. `The focus [now] is only on trying to get better than we were last year,' he said.
By Michael Wallace
MiamiHerald.com
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade said Wednesday he won't sign a long-term extension with the Heat and will revisit his future with the team as a free agent next summer.
Speaking from the Chicago-area church he bought for his mother two years ago, Wade said he and agent Henry Thomas told the Heat it would be best to hold off a decision until after the 2009-10 season.
With training camp set to open Sept. 28 in advance of the Oct. 28 season opener against New York, Wade said his focus has shifted from contract talk and toward preparing for his seventh NBA season.
"Yeah, that's no longer a conversation we're really having right now,'' Wade told The Miami Herald at a function to kick off his Wade's World weekend of charity events. "We've talked about it all summer. We know where they are -- they know where we are. We both want the best. But the focus is only on trying to get better than we were last year. And then we'll get back to the table and look at everything.''
Wade has suggested for months that his plan was to bypass a potential extension that would add three years and about $60 million to the two seasons left on his contract.
But his stance Wednesday was clearly the most definitive he has made on the issue of his future with the team that selected him fifth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Wade's comments came a day after Heat president Pat Riley said he would not push the franchise's marquee player to sign an extension during the season, and that he understood Wade's decision to wait.
"Nothing has happened,'' Riley said during a preseason news conference Tuesday regarding the inactivity since Wade was offered the extension July 12. "We're just going to ride the wave -- probably until [next] July.''
ON TO FREE AGENCY
By confirming for the first time that he will bypass the extension, Wade's next move would be to opt out of the final season of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent July 1 for the first time in his career.
But Wade, who led the league in scoring last season during the most statistically productive season of his career, suggested his decision was essentially a formality.
NBA rules allow teams to outbid outside suitors to retain their own free agents. The Heat could offer Wade a six-year contract worth about $120 million, which is one season and about $30 million more than any other team could counter outside of a sign-and-trade deal.
Wade, 27, is set to join LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire among the top players expected to make up the most star-studded free agent class in history. The Heat, Knicks and New Jersey Nets are among teams that have spent the past two seasons lining up their payroll to be in position to sign as many as two top-tier free agents to maximum-level contracts.
Wade has repeatedly said his priority is to remain with the Heat for the rest of his career. On two occasions in the past year, he ruled out any chance of landing in New York. But his hometown Chicago Bulls, who reportedly are working to clear significant salary cap space, could be a tempting destination.
THE CHICAGO FACTOR
Wade grew up a huge Bulls fan, idolized Michael Jordan and left Converse this summer to sign with Nike's Jordan brand. Wade's charity foundation, his family and his agent are all based in Chicago. Wade even acknowledged Wednesday he probably fueled speculation of a potential homecoming when he recently closed on a $1.4 million townhouse in the Windy City.
"Me buying a place in Chicago, that's supposed to mean more than what it is,'' Wade said. "I just sort of laugh at it, all the speculation.''
Asked if he's already starting to feel the weight of family members, friends and fans leaning on him to return, Wade said: "It's all good in the context of people wanting you, just in general. You appreciate the love you get. At the end of the day, I appreciate the way people feel.''
At the same time, Wade was quick to restate his devotion to Miami. He also mentioned several issues that would factor in his decision to eventually sign a long-term deal.
Chief among them would be whether the Heat rebuilds a roster next season capable of competing for a championship. Whether Riley, 64, stays on to run the franchise would be another factor, Wade said. Riley has been working under a contract set to expire next summer.
Riley has said he would like to stay and that he and owner Micky Arison would only need a ``hand-shake'' agreement for him to continue.
"Those are all things we'll talk about next summer,'' Wade said. "It's not just basketball. It's other things involved, too. His future. My future. That's what I told them. But right now, we're going to focus on basketball and take care of that other business at the end of the season.''
sons seriously even if his team sucks ... he gets to live on South Beach. how ing bad can it be???
It'll keep Riley harried & occupied.
Oh man that'd be sick to see Wade on the Bulls, a Rose and Wade front court would be just plain awesome to watch
edit: *back court duhh
Last edited by tomtom; 09-10-2009 at 12:10 AM.
Harris and Wade would be great too. Brook Lopez would hate it though.
I think this is a serious sign he will bolt. Didnt he say he would sign an extension if the Heat made it clear they would get compe ive.
with thomas as your center?
I don't see Wade leaving Miami. He got his ring. The Heat are going to offer him a Max deal that no team will even come close to. The money will be why he stays. No way he will turn down a 7 year 135 million dollar contract. Money talks and it will be why Wade stays put in South Beach.
S&T for draft picks plus enormous TPE.
Agent: Wade would still consider Heat extension offer
By Ira Winderman
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Addressing the extension offer the Miami Heat has on the table to star guard Dwyane Wade, agent Henry Thomas stressed Wednesday that it remains something his client can reconsider at any point before otherwise opting for free-agency next summer.
"As long as the extension offer is there," Thomas said, "he can accept it at any time."
Thomas stressed that his client would remain open-minded should the Heat move to satisfy Wade's desire for an upgraded roster by the mid-February trading deadline.
"It is something," Thomas said, "he will continue to evaluate."
With Wade hosting his charity weekend in Chicago, former Heat center Alonzo Mourning will bypass Thursday night's Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony in Springfield, Mass., where he was to receive the Mannie Jackson Basketball's Human Spirit Award.
Instead, Mourning will be in Chicago with Wade. The Heat will be represented at the two-day Hall ceremonies by team president Pat Riley, who was inducted into the Hall last year.
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