Dwyane Wade Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Dwyane Wade Open To Leaving Heat

June 3rd, 2015 at 8:38am CST by Eddie Scarito

JUNE 3RD, 8:32am: Wade “would welcome” an average annual value of $20MM on a contract that covers the next three seasons, an associate of the shooting guard told Jackson, who writes in a new story. That “would welcome” verbiage seems to suggest that Wade isn’t tied to that figure, though that’s just my speculation. In any case, Thomas said his client has made no definitive decision about whether to opt out, though the Heat knows that Wade would prefer, as it stands, to opt out.

JUNE 2ND, 6:20pm: The Heat’s initial contract offer to Wade is believed to have been for under $10MM per season, Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report notes (Twitter link). This would obviously be a significant pay cut from Wade’s $15MM salary for 2014/15, and well below the amount of his $16,125,000 player option for next season.

MAY 29TH, 8:29am: Wade is likely looking for $45MM on the three-year deal he seeks, according to Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Wade’s public displays of his friendship with LeBron James following the four-time MVP’s departure from Miami haven’t sat well with Riley, but the contract squabble is more about Wade’s desire to use his remaining leverage as a star, Wallace writes.

10:24pm: If Wade were to leave Miami, Los Angeles has been most frequently mentioned as a likely option for him, Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report tweets. As for which L.A. team Wade could look to join, Skolnick speculated that it could be whichever one had enough salary cap space to accommodate the guard. Skolnick did add the caveat that he didn’t believe Wade would ultimately end up leaving the Heat.

8:18pm: A person close to Wade indicated that the player’s representatives believe that the Heat think Wade is bluffing, and that he wouldn’t leave Miami, Jackson writes. Another associate of Wade’s pointed out that Dragic’s future is another chip that Wade holds in negotiations, because the chances of Dragic departing as a free agent this summer would increase if Wade signs elsewhere, Jackson adds.

7:30pm: Thomas spoke with Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel regarding Wade’s bargaining position. “Several guys opted out of their contract last year,” Thomas said. “Obviously Dwyane wasn’t in a position that Chris [Bosh] was in, in terms of having another team offer a maximum deal. But the reality of this is he’s played his entire career for Miami. He’s done wonderful things in terms of the five titles that they played for, winning three of them. He’s had a tremendous career, and we’re just trying to see whether or not there’s room to continue that.”

4:51pm: Agent Henry Thomas said, “I am going to continue to have conversations with the Heat and try to make this work,” but wouldn’t say if Wade was leaving Miami or if his client would definitely opt out of his deal this offseason, Jackson relays (Twitter links).

MAY 28TH, 4:34pm: The Heat and guard Dwyane Wade have been discussing his contract situation and there appears to be a significant difference in what the two sides believe Wade’s next deal should be worth, multiple sources have told Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Though Wade still prefers to remain with the franchise, where he has spent his entire 12-year career, he is now open to leaving if Miami does not raise its offer, Jackson adds.

Wade had opted out of the final two years of his contract last summer which were worth approximately $41.6MM. Instead, the veteran agreed to a more team-friendly two-year, $31MM deal, which included a player option for next season worth $16.1MM. The guard did so in order to allow the team’s front office to have greater financial flexibility to improve the roster, Jackson notes. At the time, Wade indicated that he was curious to see how much he could command in the summer of 2016, when the salary cap is expected to increase dramatically, courtesy of the league’s new television deal kicking in, the Herald scribe writes.

According to Jackson’s sources, Wade’s representatives are urging him to opt out this summer and to try to secure a lucrative three-year contract that would extend past his 36th birthday, Jackson relays. But the Heat are said not to prefer this option, and want Wade to opt in for next season. The franchise would then re-sign him to a two-year deal, but not for a significant amount, Jackson adds.

Whether Wade opts out of his deal or not, there is still said to be a “sizable gap” between what Wade wants to be paid over the next three seasons and what the Heat are willing to commit to him, Jackson notes. When asked about the differences between the two sides, Wade’s agent Henry Thomas declined to comment, as did the team, the Herald scribe relays. Jackson also notes that if Wade departs it could negatively impact the team’s chances at re-signing Goran Dragic.

Wade has been the face of the Heat franchise for years, which could affect his negotiating stance with the team. But Miami is almost assuredly concerned with committing a large portion of its salary cap amount to a player with Wade’s injury history. The 33-year-old has averaged just 58 games per season the last four years, and his knees certainly aren’t getting any younger.

In 62 appearances this past season, Wade averaged 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest. His career numbers are 24.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 5.9 APG. Wade’s career slash line is .490/.289/.765.

Southeast Notes: Wade, Satoransky, Muscala

May 14th, 2015 at 12:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Veterans Al Horford and Paul Pierce made the key hoops for their respective teams Wednesday in Atlanta’s victory in Game 5 of the Hawks-Wizards series, one that serves as a de facto Southeast Division championship. Whichever team wins the series, which the Hawks lead 3-2, will make its first appearance in the conference finals in more than three decades and will perhaps be in a better position to attract stars via free agency. The Hawks have a much better chance to clear cap room this summer than the Wizards do, but both teams have plenty of flexibility for the summer of 2016, when Kevin Durant and others are set to come free. While we wait to see how that all plays out, here’s the latest from around the Southeast:

The agent for Dwyane Wade wouldn’t say this week whether the Heat star would pick up his $16.125MM player option for next season, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. That adds to the confusion of conflicting reports about Wade’s plans for the option. Henry Thomas of the Creative Artists Agency represents Wade, as our Agency Database shows.
Wizards draft-and-stash prospect Tomas Satoransky still dreams of playing in the NBA but intends to finish his contract with Barcelona of Spain, as he told Adriano Correal of Gigantes Del Basket (translation via HoopsHype). Barcelona’s deal runs through next year for the shooting guard whom Washington drafted 32nd overall in 2012, as Mark Porcaro shows in our Draft Rights Held Players Database.
Mike Muscala played in only about half of Atlanta’s regular season games, but he’s been a part of the rotation for the Hawks in the playoffs and is drawing raves from his teammates, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution chronicles. Muscala’s minimum salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
A lack of offensive development and a failure to convince either Jacque Vaughn or James Borrego that he deserved more playing time this season leave plenty of uncertainty about any future that Maurice Harkless has with the Magic, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines. Harkless is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason but seems unlikely to end up with one, as I speculated in a look at this year’s extension market.

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Thibodeau, Grant

April 21st, 2015 at 7:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bucks president Peter Feigin impressed upon bickering local and state government officials to wrap up a deal within the next 10 days to secure the public’s $250MM share of financing for a $500MM new arena for the team in Milwaukee, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Without an arena, “the Bucks will be gone from the state of Wisconsin,” Feigin warned. Realistically, groundbreaking must take place by early this fall so that the arena remains on schedule to beat an NBA-imposed deadline, as Feigin told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com for a story this weekend. Sources told Windhorst the NBA would indeed exercise its right to buy the franchise and seek to move it if construction doesn’t begin soon.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

Despite the upgrade Tom Thibodeau would provide as coach, the Magic should pass on the longtime Bulls coach if it required the team to surrender its first round draft pick as compensation, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel opines. Orlando previously traded for Stan Van Gundy, sending the Heat a second-rounder back in 2007 in return for the coach, Schmitz notes.
2014 second-rounder Jerami Grant turned out to be one of the Sixers‘ biggest surprises this season, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. An undersized power forward in college, Grant adapted well when the team moved him to small forward, Pompey adds. “Whatever position they put me at, I think I will be fine with it,” Grant said. “But in the offseason, I’m definitely going to work on a lot of things that a four-man can do and what a three-man can do. I’m just going to work on my overall game.” In 65 games this season Grant averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per contest.
Dwyane Wade isn’t in a rush to make a decision regarding his player option worth $16,125,000, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. The veteran also indicated that the 2015/16 campaign isn’t likely to be his last in the league, Reynolds adds. “I don’t sit on my hands,” Wade said. “Obviously, everything’s about life after [basketball] and seeing what you want to do as well. So this is a perfect time to figure it out. I signed my deal the way I did for a reason … and the organization did it for a reason. It’s my option. I’ll decide when the time is right. Everyone knows I always try to do what’s best for the organization, but I also have to do what’s best for Dwyane Wade as well.” This conflicts with earlier statements from Wade that he intended to opt in for next season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pat Riley On LeBron, Dragic, Wade, Draft

April 20th, 2015 at 12:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

Heat team president Pat Riley said today that he’s “at peace with” the choice LeBron James made last summer to return to Cleveland, and he indicated that everyone else in the organization had moved on, too, as Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald transcribes (Twitter links). That didn’t appear to be the case when Riley, in response to a question about the draft, said there would be “no more smiling faces with hidden agendas, so we’ll be going in clean,” as Goodman also relays from today’s season-ending press conference (Twitter link). That could be interpreted as a jab at James, whose affection for Shabazz Napier was well-known before the Heat drafted him just weeks prior to James’ departure from Miami, but Riley insists his remark could be a reference to “anyone across the board,” Goodman tweets. Regardless, Riley had much more to say about the Heat’s future, and we’ll round up the highlights here:

Riley underscored the importance of re-signing Goran Dragic, as Herald columnist Barry Jackson relays. “If he doesn’t sign, my [expletive] is going to be in that seat and I’ll be writing about it,” Riley said to the gathered media. Still, Riley is “very confident” that Dragic will be back, Jackson notes.
Dwyane Wade‘s health been an ongoing issue, but Riley challenged the 33-year-old to be prepared to play more often. Wade said last week that he intends to opt in for next season. “Dwyane has to change the narrative about his body, his injuries, his missing games,” Riley said. “We’ve had a discussion about that. Night in, night out, there’s always a question of whether he can or cannot [play]. I’d like to see him do whatever he has to do to get himself ready to practice and play every single night. He’s got five months. This is not just a Dwyane Wade problem. It’s throughout the league.”
Riley would like to see the current starters return, Jackson relays in the same piece. That would indicate that the team wants to keep Luol Deng, who’s undecided about his more than $10.15MM player option.
The Heat president laid out what he’s looking for in the draft, where the Heat have a lottery pick as long as it falls in the top 10, and the 40th pick, saying that he wants “developed players, experienced players,” Jackson notes. “While we felt we might have had enough on the perimeter, that might be an area where we look,” Riley said. “I don’t want a one-dimensional guy. [I want] guys that can [shoot], guys that are playmakers, guys that can defend. We will take the best player that’s available.”
Riley believes the Heat will return to title contention next year, Goodman tweets, and he expressed bitter disappointment about falling short of the postseason this time around, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes (on Twitter). “There is not a person in the organization that doesn’t think we should have made the playoffs,” Riley said.

Dwyane Wade To Opt In

April 17th, 2015 at 12:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwyane Wade intends to pick up his $16.125MM player option for next season, as the Heat star confirmed today to reporters, including Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). It’s no shock, given Wade’s longstanding ties to the Heat, though the 33-year-old is set to pass up the chance to lock in more money spread over a longer period of time and capitalize on a season in which he finished 11th in the NBA in scoring average.

Wade’s 21.5 points per game this season, just 0.2 shy of Klay Thompson for 10th among league leaders, stopped a streak of five straight years in which his PPG had declined. The 12th-year veteran carried a heavier load with LeBron James having returned to Cleveland and Chris Bosh out for the second half of the season with blood clots in his lungs. He missed 20 games, and he’s not the slasher he once was, taking a lower percentage of his shots from within 3 feet than in any season in his career, as Basketball-Reference shows. Wade was less efficient, with a 21.4 PER that was his lowest since his rookie season. That still makes him much more efficient than most, however.

The Heat would have about $59MM in commitments against a projected $67.4MM salary cap for next season if Wade indeed opts in, so the team wouldn’t be able to open significant cap room to replace Goran Dragic if he were to bolt. Wade doesn’t plan on making a recruiting push to keep the point guard, but Dragic, who confirmed today that he’ll opt out, has nonetheless made it seem as though the Heat are well out in front as they bid to retain him.

Southeast Notes: Fournier, Henderson, Heat

April 16th, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Al Jefferson indicated earlier today that he would likely opt in and remain with the Hornets next season. Swingman Gerald Henderson also has player option for 2015/16, his being worth $6MM, but Henderson says that he hasn’t thought about free agency yet, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. The 27-year-old did say that he would prefer to remain with Charlotte, Bonnell adds. Henderson appeared in 80 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

After a difficult first campaign with the Hornets, Lance Stephenson vowed to return next season much improved and with his confidence back, Bonnell notes. “My 3-point percentage was the lowest ever in history. That’s terrible,” Stephenson said. “It’s confidence – just wanting the shot to go in so bad and then you lose your confidence. That plays a major part when you don’t have confidence in your shot. This summer I’m going to find my confidence.” Stephenson’s 17.1% three-point accuracy wasn’t quite the worst ever, but it was a sharp drop from last season’s 35.2%.
Evan Fournier is eligible to sign an extension this summer, and the swingman loves playing for the Magic, but he acknowledged that contract extensions are usually reserved for star players, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets.
Dwyane Wade says that he won’t be recruiting Luol Deng and Goran Dragic to remain with the Heat next season, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. “Nope,” Wade said about playing recruiter. “They know. If they want to be here, they’ll be here.” Both Deng and Dragic possess player options for the 2015/16 campaign.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan fully expects restricted free agent Tobias Harris to be with Orlando next season, John Denton of Orlando Magic.com relays (Twitter link). “I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season,” stated the GM.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Irving, Stevens, Shved

March 31st, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The relationship between LeBron James and Kyrie Irving was “rocky” at points earlier this season, Irving admits, but it’s grown into a bond that appears much stronger than the one between James and Kevin Love, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group details. Love and James say it doesn’t matter whether they become as tight as Irving and James are as long as they can develop a greater on-court connection, Vardon writes.

“People get so infatuated with the best of friends, things of that nature,” James said. “First of all, I’ve got three very good friends in this league, and that’s Carmelo [Anthony], and that’s C.P. [Chris Paul], and that’s [Dwyane Wade] Wade. And after that I have a bunch of teammates. I have guys I ride for every day. But Kyrie is a guy I understand how important he is to this team, how important he is. And the same with Kev as well.”

James and Love can opt out to hit free agency this summer, while Irving will enter year one of his five-year extension next season. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated and CBS hears “some Brad Stevens chatter” in connection to the University of Texas coaching job (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether there’s interest on either side, though Texas athletics director Steve Patterson has spoken with NBA coaching agents of late, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. Davis identifies Avery Johnson as a possible sleeper for the job. Stevens is just finishing up the second season of a six-year, $22MM deal and there have been no indications that he wants to leave the Celtics. Further, the Celtics would probably deny him permission to go, as Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com surmises (Twitter link).
Alexey Shved loves playing for coach Derek Fisher and is open to re-signing with New York after his contract expires this summer, sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). The Knicks can make Shved a restricted free agent if they tender a qualifying offer of nearly $4.103MM.
The Cavs have assigned Joe Harris to the D-League, the team announced. It’s the eighth time Cleveland has sent last year’s 33rd overall pick to its affiliate, though none of the seven previous assignments have lasted as long as a week, as our leaguewide assignments/recalls log shows.

Eastern Notes: Irving, Heat, Scott, Perkins

March 16th, 2015 at 4:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reports last season that made claims of a rift between Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters and alleged that Irving wanted to leave the Cavaliers put a strain on the point guard, as he tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Irving silenced much of the chatter when he agreed to a five-year extension with Cleveland on the first day he could this past July.

“It really got to me,” Irving said of the rumors. “I’m not a big Twitter person and I don’t tweet a lot of my emotions, but last year I was clarifying because there were so many sources. I’m dealing with people coming at my character. Saying I’m detrimental to my teammates and I’m like, ‘Man, that’s not even close to who I am at all.’ It started to get to me because once people start to question the things that you’re doing, and you know you’re not doing them, then it starts to get to you.”

There’s more on the Cavs amid the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

Dwyane Wade believes Goran Dragic is a fit for the Heat, but even if he re-signs and Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts return healthy for next season, Wade thinks the team would still need to add more to return to contention, as he told Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.
Mike Scott is expected to miss four to six weeks with his broken left big toe, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Hawks signed Austin Daye on Saturday to a 10-day contract to help offset the loss. The regular season ends four weeks from this coming Wednesday.
Kendrick Perkins is enthusiastic about the way he’s fit in with the Cavs and the warm reception his new teammates have given him, as he tells Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Perkins, who nonetheless added that he misses his former Thunder teammates, will once more hit free agency in the summer.
Public funding for pro sports facilities is coming under fire from President Obama, who’s proposed eliminating the ability for states and cities to use bonds that are exempt from federal taxes to raise money for construction, reports Elaine S. Povich of Stateline (USA Today link). It’s unclear whether that would affect the Bucks‘ plan, which is based on a “jock tax” that draws from players.

Eastern Notes: Sessions, Heat, Pacers

February 19th, 2015 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ramon Sessions‘ agent, Jared Karnes, is excited to see his client join the Wizards, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports writes. “Washington is a great situation for Ramon,” Karnes said. “He’s obviously looking forward to going to the playoffs. He has a contract year coming up and this gives him a chance shake things up and be part of a playoff team. Ramon appreciated his time in Sacramento and wishes them success.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Pacers made a serious bid to acquire Reggie Jackson from the Thunder, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Of course, the Pacers wound up losing out to the Pistons.
The Heat made Hassan Whiteside an untouchable in trade talks along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Knicks president Phil Jackson can learn a lot about being a successful NBA executive from the Heat‘s Pat Riley, Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post writes.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri was happy enough with his roster to not make any moves prior to the trade deadline, Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com writes. “We feel confident in this team,” Ujiri said. “In terms of growth, in terms of growing, we’re still a long ways away. We understand that, but a lot of things that were put in front of us were things that maybe [helped] immediately, something that makes you a slightly better now, but it also takes away from younger guys continuing to grow. We felt it wasn’t the time.”
Goran Dragic is likely to sign a long-term deal this summer to remain with the Heat, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. More than anything else, Dragic desires stability in his career, Deveney adds. “Finding a place where I can be a part of something and build toward something, that is what I have wanted most, really. Having stability,” Dragic told the Sporting News scribe.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Olynyk, Knicks, Wade, Nets

January 29th, 2015 at 8:51pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The date when the Celtics can expect Kelly Olynyk to return to action is still in question after the center’s most recent round of medical tests, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “It’s tough with something like an ankle, everyone is different,” said Olynyk. “It could be a week, it could be three weeks, it could be a month — you never know. I’m just trying to get better and evaluate it each day, and take the next step whenever it’s deemed necessary.” Olynyk was initially expected to miss a month of action.

Here’s more from the East:

With Lance Thomas and Louis Amundson set to join New York for the remainder of the season, this will limit the team’s ability to make roster roster moves for the rest of the campaign, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. The Knicks will probably need to try and find a taker for Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon or to reach a buyout arrangement with Amar’e Stoudemire, in order for the team to be able to add any new faces to its roster, Begley adds.
Amundson is thankful that the Knicks have signed him for the rest of the season, Marc Berman of The New York Post notes (Twitter link). The big man wasn’t sure if he would be on an NBA roster after being waived by New York earlier this month, Berman adds.
Dwyane Wade told reporters today that he would likely miss a minimum of two or three weeks due to his injured hamstring, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald reports. “I won’t be seeing y’all for a little while, so take a good look at this face,” the Heat star guard said. “You can’t put a time on it. You can’t look at the hamstring and say you’re going to be out this amount of games. Like many muscle strains, you’ve got to go day-by-day.”
The Nets are hoping to have their own D-League team within the next two seasons, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily writes. Brooklyn would likely buy the rights to an expansion team and place it in the New York area, similar to what the Knicks did with their Westchester affiliate this season, Windrem notes.