Dwyane Wade Hasn't Decided on NBA Future, Wants to Play for Heat if He Returns

Dwyane Wade isn't committing to a 16th NBA season just yet. But if he does return, he wants it to be with the Miami Heat.

Wade reiterated he only wants to play with the Heat in an interview on Fox Sports Radio's Chris & Caron Show on Sunday. The 12-time All-Star spent his first 13 seasons with the Heat before spending a year-and-a-half with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers before the latter traded him back to Miami at the 2018 deadline.

Wade, 36, averaged 12.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 21 games after returning to the Heat. He came off the bench for each of those games and played a regular reserve role for the first time in his career.

"I’ve coached him now in this role, which I don’t think either one of us ever would have imagined that Dwyane Wade would be coming off the bench,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But he’s handled all of these roles with incredible class and dignity.

“He could play this role forever. I don’t know if he will choose to do that, but it also, again, speaks to his character and his humility, you know, that he’d be willing to take on a role like this."

Wade is an unrestricted free agent this summer but has expressed he only wants to play for the Heat multiple times. Odds are he's at a point in his career where he'll either take a minimum contract or retire—there's going to be no standoff with Pat Riley the same way there was two years ago.