Dwyane Wade will wait until he returns from a trip to China before deciding whether to play next season, relays Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Wade traveled overseas to announce a lifetime contract with Chinese apparel company Li-Ning, continuing a relationship that began in 2012. Although financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is believed to pay Wade tens of millions of dollars.
“Right now, I’m focused on the game after basketball,” Wade said when asked about his NBA career. “Whatever happens in basketball, it happens. I’ve done everything that I can to this point to put myself that I’m in this position I am today, where I can do something that hasn’t been done globally yet. The basketball will take care of itself. I’ll sit down and figure that out once I get back from this tour at some point.”
There’s more today out of Miami:
- Former Heat player Quentin Richardson, who will return to Miami this weekend as part of the Big3 tour, tells Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel he hopes to see Wade play at least one more season. “I think it’ll come down to what his passion is and what he feels like he has left,” Richardson said. “Look at Manu Ginobili, I feel like he can play a few more years like Manu did and be as good if not better as he has been. In my eyes, I still think he has something left. That’s ultimately a decision that comes down to him and his family.”
- The Heat must decide soon if Justise Winslow is worth a long-term investment, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. With three years of NBA service, Winslow is eligible for an extension this summer. If the Heat don’t work out an agreement prior to the start of the regular season, Winslow will be a restricted free agent next offseason. A team source tells Jackson that no decision has been made on whether to make an extension offer, but it doesn’t appear the Heat have been entertaining trade offers for Winslow.
- Miami lost out on Kawhi Leonard because it didn’t have a star to offer the Spurs, Winderman writes in a separate piece. The Heat might have been able to offer a combination of young talent in Winslow, Josh Richardson and Bam Adebayo, but San Antonio wanted a scorer who contribute right away, and Miami doesn’t have anyone like DeMar DeRozan.
Totally agree D-Wade has earned the right to do whatever he wants… Hopefully he’ll be back & we can enjoy him another year.
This sounds like the Spurs weren’t sure about Waiters ankle injury, and likely wanted an extra asset further than Waiters, James Johnson, Mcgruder, pick(s), and the Heat taking Patty Mills for them, if they were going to take the shot at Waiters being healthy…I think they think they can improve Derozan, and either continue with him going forward, or flip him next offseason for pieces around their young guards. Not sure if they’ll be able to do that, but perception wise, it’s easier to explain that type of a deal to fans that dont know
As for the Heat, I would see if they can get Winslow on a team friendly extension, similar to Richardson, but a bit less. If he takes it, nice. If not, hopefully he plays well enough to make it a tougher decision in the offseason, and I feel like this is going to be a big year for Justise Winslow, as he has been healthy for a year now, and has a chance to continue to improve where he has so far.
Still hoping for Melo, but that doesnt seem likely at this point. As for Dwyane Wade and UD, I’m not ready for them to hang it up. Selfishly, I need at least 2 more years, but I doubt that happens. Whatever decision they make, I’m behind them. I just feel like those guys deserve all the recognition they could possibly get, and it would be cool to have a chance to continue to show our appreciation as fans, and create one more run of memories, as we unfortunately say goodbye for a while. That being said, they’re always part of the Miami Heat family, and that wont ever change. They’ll be around regardless. However, it will remain to he seen when the next time anyone will bring the energy those guys bring to this fanbase and this organization
He’ll be back.