There was a time in the not-so-distant past when the NBA and its followers would ponder Dwyane Wade’s future whereabouts almost as much as his buddy LeBron James’.
Now, with Wade at age 36, not so much. He’s been there and done that, as far as leaving and returning to Miami, and he clearly is heading into the sunset of his Hall of Fame-worthy career. For the most part, Wade is again a free agent but is weighing whether or not to play a 16th season or not.
If he does make that return, though, Wade sounds set on staying in South Florida.
Wade shared his view on his future and other topics during an interview with FOX Sports radio on Sunday, talking with former teammate Caron Butler and Yahoo.com’s Chris Mannix. His comments were transcribed and framed by Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald:
“For me, at this point, I would love to, you know, if I decide to come back and play the game of basketball, I would love for it obviously to be in Miami,” Wade said on the ‘Chris and Caron’ show with Butler and Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix.
“It’s crazy because in this league you never know what happens. I never even thought I would leave Miami. Caron knows that. I thought I would be here forever. But things happen. So, at this point for me, sitting here, contemplating on playing the game of basketball, my only vision as I sit here today is playing in a Miami Heat uniform.”
He also offered up insight on what James, his former Big Three running mate in Miami, might do when it comes to picking a team for next season and presumably beyond.
“For me I don’t think it’s a basketball thing,” Wade said of James. “Obviously this year he’s shown he can get to the Finals no matter what the circumstances are. So I don’t really think for him the basketball decision is ‘Oh, let me go team up with three All-Stars.’ I think at this point in his life it’s more so of a lifestyle thing. ‘Where is my family going to be the most comfortable at? Where am I going to be the happiest at?’ Because basketball-wise he’s so great, he can take along whoever.”
Last season, Wade averaged 16.3 points on 44.3 percent shooting in the Heat’s first-round playoff elimination by the Philadelphia 76ers, scoring 28 points in Game 2 and 25 in Game 4.
Shortly after being traded to the Heat, Wade told ESPN in an interview that he wanted to be with the Heat ‘forever’ and that he did not want a Kobe Bryant-like farewell season.
It was an encouraging finish individually, after Wade had averaged 12.0 points with 40.9 percent accuracy in the 21 games he played after being dealt from Cleveland at the February trade deadline.
