Dwyane Wade's Message to Miami Heat Is Clear: Loyalty Is a 2-Way Street
Kevin Durant's move to the Golden State Warriors gave the sports world's windiest bloviators carte blanche to huff and puff about loyalty. Fortunately, Dwyane Wade's current situation with the Miami Heat reveals just how ridiculous all that gassy hot-taking really is.
Relations are strained between Wade and the Heat, and it's not difficult to understand why, per Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald: "Wade and the Heat are not on great terms. That is coming from both sides. 'Ugly' has been the common descriptor. Wade did not feel like the Heat prioritized him...again. The Heat wanted Wade to be patient, while it was securing Hassan Whiteside and trying to land Kevin Durant."
This isn't just about Wade wanting a two-year deal that'll pay him $50 million, per ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. It isn't even about Miami prioritizing Whiteside and Durant over its iconic shooting guard.
It's about a lopsided, career-long relationship between Wade and Miami—one that nicely encapsulates the incongruous demands we place on franchises and players.
Wade has never been his team's highest earner. He sacrificed money to facilitate the construction of the Big Three in 2010, forgoing $16 million over four years so the Heat could fit LeBron James and Chris Bosh on the roster, per Vincent Johnson and Michael Schwartz of ESPN Stats & Information.
Four years later, he did the Heat another financial solid when James opted out. By declining his own option and renegotiating his contract, Wade left $11 million on the table, per Windhorst, so Miami could construct a winning roster in the post-LeBron era.
At the time, team president Pat Riley praised the selflessness in a press release (via the Sun Sentinel):
"Dwyane has been the franchise cornerstone for this team since the day he arrived 11 years ago. He has shown his commitment to the Heat many times over the course of his career and has always been willing to sacrifice in order to help build this team into a champion. This time is no different.
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The sacrifices have always gone one way between Wade and his team. And instead of ripping the Heat, terming the current standoff a gross, character-revealing act of betrayal, we're comfortable describing it as a difference of opinion. As a disconnect in valuation.
As business.
A sacrifice for the Heat, in this instance, would be trading away Josh McRoberts so they could fit a $25 million annual salary onto the books for Wade—which, by the way, still wouldn't even be his max. This would be a small outlay in the interest of loyalty, if only the Heat would do it.
But they're not incentivized to make Wade whole at the expense of the franchise's possible success—partly because that's now how most businesses operate, and partly because nobody will burn effigies of Riley's suits if Wade walks away.
With Miami no longer looking like a legitimate contender and Wade's own career winding down, it's no great surprise to see the 34-year-old angling for some reciprocation.
Wade is garnering interest from the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets, per Windhorst, and he scheduled a meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks (which he later canceled, per ESPN.com's Zach Lowe).
Even more intriguingly, rumors are bubbling up about a possible reunion with James, per Skolnick.
Windhorst refuted the Wade-to-Cleveland talk, and it's worth noting the Cavs could only afford to give the 13-year veteran a starting salary of nearly $3.5 million on a short-term deal. But the chatter is out there, and that's kind of the point.
By at least giving off the appearance of looking around, Wade is reminding the Heat he may not be content to sacrifice forever. In the face of repeated marginalization, he's saying his loyalty has its limits. Granted, the problem with sending that message now is that Wade's leverage has diminished with his on-court value.
At 34, he isn't a game-changing superstar. Putting aside his past contributions and connection with the Miami community, the Heat's two-year, $40 million offer, as ESPN's Dan LeBatard first reported, is perhaps more than Wade is worth.
It would be bad business, and it's easy to imagine the criticism Miami would incur for overpaying Wade if he breaks down physically and/or the team stalls out this season. Tossing $50 million at a mid-30s guard could cripple the franchise's short-term flexibility, but that wouldn't matter if loyalty was a two-way concern.
Miami owes its icon.
Wade's options are open. He could come to terms with the Heat after all; he could still bolt this summer for more money and/or a better chance to win; he can wait for Cleveland to have more cap space in 2017 before teaming back up with James on his own terms. Regardless, he's built up enough goodwill in Miami to shield himself from fan outrage. You probably won't see any No. 3 jerseys torched, no matter how this shakes out.
Good for him.
Miami, though, is more likely to face criticism if it does what Wade did for so many years: subjugates its own self-interest to do right by someone else. Overpaying to keep Wade (if it meant tossing aside a chance to keep building toward a title contender) would incur more anger than letting him leave would.
Durant wasn't indebted to the Thunder, and now he's wading through a knee-deep ocean of venom for leaving. The Heat owe Wade a ton, and nobody's upset about them holding out on his salary demands.
Let's keep that dichotomy in mind the next time we get the urge to pillory a "disloyal" star.
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