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Calling Himself ‘‘Lifer,’,’ Wade Signs For Less..So The Team Can Retool Its Cast
Calling himself ‘lifer,’ Wade signs for less
The face of the Heat sacrifices cash so the team can retool its cast.
From The Miami Herald
LAS VEGAS — The most accomplished player in Heat history is doing everything he can to lead them into the future. Dwyane Wade re-signed with Miami on a two-year contract Tuesday and proclaimed himself a “Heat Lifer” when announcing his return on Twitter. The deal, reported by ESPN to be $31 million, includes a player option for the 2015-16 season, meaning Wade gave up significant money to help the team build its roster and maintain flexibility going forward.
“You can’t say enough about Dwyane Wade,” coach Erik Spoelstra said after Tuesday’s summer league game in Las Vegas. “He’s a patriarchal figure with the Miami Heat. It’s amazing. You just don’t see that in today’s day and age, players that are willing to sacrifice to try to build a better team.“If you don’t have somebody like Dwyane that is the face of the franchise, that is backing up what he says with his actions, then you just don’t have a chance to withstand big changes that inevitably happen in this league. He’s done it time and time again, and that’s what makes him such a special individual in this great league. It’s a league of change and instability, and you have somebody who embodies stability.”
Wade, 32, had a contract that would have paid him $41.6 million over the next two seasons before exercising his Early Termination Option last month. He made that move — believing at the time it was in conjunction with LeBron James and Chris Bosh doing the same — to give Miami a chance to retool its supporting cast. With James gone to Cleveland, the Heat’s plan became more of an overhaul than they anticipated. They quickly retained Bosh on a maximum contract of $118 million over five years, then picked up Luol Deng for two years, $20 million. Wade, Bosh and Deng are Miami’s core heading into next season, and the starting five likely will round out with re-signed point guard Mario Chalmers and new power forward Josh McRoberts.
“I am proud to have spent every single day of my career as a member of the Miami Heat and to have brought three championships to this great city,” Wade said in a statement. “I’ve been here through the good times and the hard times. I have confidence in the Miami Heat organization and the team they are building. Miami is expected to resign longtime forward Udonis Haslem any day to a multi-year deal. He declined a player option that would have paid him $4.6 million next season. The Heat also signed 2013 second-round pick James Ennis to a three-year, non-guaranteed contract at the minimum salary. They retained his rights while he played in Australia and Puerto Rico last year and he has been the star of their summer league team in Orlando and Las Vegas. He sat out Tuesday’s game against the Wizards because of a groin injury.
Securing Wade, Haslem and Ennis would give the Heat 10 players on board for next season. They previously agreed to terms with Chris Andersen and Danny Granger and will get first-round pick ShabazzNapier under contract this summer. Backup point guard Norris Cole has one season left on his contract.Miami also has a team option on center Justin Hamilton, who played sparingly last year. Wade is coming off a year in which he played just 54 games and struggled tremendously in the NBA Finals, but expects to be healthier next season. Despite his knee trouble, he averaged 19 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds during the regular season and was an All-Star starter. He also shot a career-high 54.5 percent from the field.
Miami drafted him No. 5 overall in 2003 and he has been the face of the team ever since. He is a 10-time All-Star and three-time champion.
From The Miami Herald
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