Dwyane Wade's True Loyalty, and What I Want Now Out of NBA Free Agency

Public Enemy No. 1?

A Show?

Wait, let me quote some of what one Christopher Murphy had to say:

Going into free agency, Wade was staying in Miami. It was a proven fact and not even something to mull over.

A snoozer in the box office, however.

What better way to make a movie exciting than to fake some drama? Wade did just that, and has officially brought some loyalty to the team he grew up watching; loyalty against him. 

He tricked Chicago Bulls VP John Paxson and GM Gar Forman into truly believing he could not only bring himself to Chicago, but Chris Bosh and LeBron James as well.

For 24 hours, Chicago was buzzing with the possible return to relativity for their NBA franchise.

And with one swoop, Wade's boring, predictable ending of he and Bosh signing with the Heat became a climactic one, seeing as he made the world think Miami had no chance. 

Well, here is a plot twist for him.

He has become public enemy No. 1 in the city of Chicago; his hometown.

You feel that you and the Bulls fans were played.  

Understandable feeling. 

But, I beg to differ.

Wade seemed very emotional during his interview with Michael Wilbon today when talking about why he chose to go back to Miami.  

Being a poker player, I can read faces pretty well.

Wade's face was that of a conflicted man who put deep thought into his options and made his choice based off of a variety of factors.

The swing vote was actually from Bosh; had he not wanted to play in Miami so badly, Wade would be a Chicago Bull right now.

This didn't seem to be a manipulation to distract the Bulls. At first, that's what we wanted to believe in Miami, but as the news reports of a second meeting came in on Friday that seemed less and less likely.

It was the Bulls who asked for the second meeting, and Wade obliged.

Nothing Wade did showed disloyalty to anyone.

He showed his loyalty to his hometown by considering the Bulls.

He met with the Nets once, and the Knicks once. (BTW, I highly doubt Wade really said to the Knicks "give me another superstar and I can win you a ring." Had that been the case, he'd have signed with the Knicks the second they picked up Amar'e.)

The only teams he met with more than once: his hometown Bulls, and the Heat, the team that drafted him.

I'll admit that in Miami, we were scared the whole time.

Radio personality Jorge Sedano, and writers Michael Wallace and Tim Reynolds implored us to stay calm and not panic. Some of us listened, others didn't. 

But in the end, Wade has done nothing but show loyalty, and had good reasons to go with either team.

As a Heat fan, while I would've been upset had he left, I would've understood why.

And if anything, I would have blamed either Riley for not building a good enough team around him the last two years or Michael Beasley himself for not developing the way he should have.

Wade just looked at his options and felt that the best one for him was with Chris Bosh back in Miami.

Its not like he signed with the Clippers.

He had the tough choice between the hometown team and the team that drafted him and decided to build around him, and he chose the team that drafted him which shows complete loyalty.

Especially when you're suggesting this:

And if he wants loyalty, the team would be smart to show him what loyalty toward hatred can do and get James to come to Chicago.

First off, what does loyalty toward hatred even mean?  

Why would you want to be loyal towards hatred in the first place? Don't you want to be loyal towards positive things?

And second, how does it show loyalty by asking LeBron to do what Wade wouldn't do, and stab the team that drafted him in the back?

More importantly, how does it show loyalty to ask LeBron to stab his HOME STATE in the back?  

LeBron leaving Cleveland would be like Derrick Rose deciding to leave Chicago when his contract is up, multiplied by 10,000! He'd not only be turning his back on the team that drafted him, but also on the community that he grew up in.  

Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to hope LeBron goes to Chicago, I'm just saying that that's not exactly how you show loyalty. (I'll get to LeBron in a minute.)

I understand the way you're probably feeling as a Bulls fan, Mr. Murphy. It always sucks to whiff on big free agents.

Actually, you and I probably have more in common than you may think, unless that is if you're a White Sox fan; then in that case, we have nothing in common sports-wise.

But also keep this in mind: the Bulls didn't really have to get rid of Hinrich. They only did it to lure Wade, Bosh, or LeBron.

So far they're 0-2, after tomorrow, possibly 0-3.

They didn't need a Wade or LeBron to make the team better, it would've only hindered Rose's growth. They needed a Power Forward (found in Boozer) and a spot up shooter (Kyle Korver) and can afford both without having to get rid of Luol Deng, who despite the large contract, I'd still keep.

A Rose-Deng-Korver-Boozer-Noah lineup, while not quite championship good, is still pretty good for a year. Then next year, you'll have the cap space to go after a Carmelo Anthony.

Now THAT would be a team worth reckoning with in the East.

So consider what Wade did by re-signing with the Heat as a favor. Now Rose can mature for another year as the main ball-handler and become the creator he's supposed to be.

Deng can play his way onto another team which is interested in him come February and possibly trading an expiring contract for him that will allow you to sign a Carmelo.

(Sorry Bulls fans, this might mean you'll have to deal with the return of Eddy Curry, unless something else, which I'll name later, happens). 

But there's no reason to name Wade Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago.

He did nothing wrong to the Bulls or their fans, and I hope those poll results are just a reaction to losing out on him and not the way Chicago really feels about their native sons.

And there's precedent for this:

Isiah Thomas is still respected in Chicago.

What he did to Jordan in the 1985 All-Star Game, and the fact that he lead the Pistons in walking off the court in the remaining minutes of the Eastern Conference Finals when the Bulls swept them in 1991, is a lot worse than anything that Wade has done or will do to Chicago.

Free Agency Talk

Back here in Miami, there's a lot of rumors going around that LeBron will join Wade and Bosh.

Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who's a realtor, car dealer, or interior decorator who claims that LeBron is coming to Miami.  

I am actually on the fence here, torn up inside.

As a Heat fan, I'd love LeBron to join the Heat.

As a basketball fan, it's not that easy.

As a basketball fan, there's only one team I see LeBron on, and it's not Cleveland.

It's New York.

I want a revival of the Heat-Knicks rivalry.

I want Wade vs. LeBron, an assured national TV telecast, and for those two to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals every year. (Hard to believe, but Wade and LeBron have never faced each other in a playoff series.)

Even as a Heat fan, while I'd love for LeBron to be on the Heat, we'd be a more complete team without him, and with the ability to use the money to create a more balanced team.

So this might anger fellow Heat fans but, (deep breath), I want LeBron to start spreading the news...he's leaving today...I want him to be a part of it, New York, New York. 

(I think I just managed to piss off my two favorite cities, Miami and Chicago, simultaneously. Good job by me.)

Then there's this: Knicks have Eddy Curry's expiring deal.

In February, with LeBron and Stoudemire already in tow, they can use that and ship it off to a team out west that's looking to trim payroll and will have a pissed off two-time MVP with a couple of years left on his deal that loved playing for D'Antoni.

How sick would that be? LeBron James, Amar'e, and Nash.

Sure, they couldn't play defense to save their lives, but couldn't LeBron be a much better version of Shawn Marion?  

Sounds like an intriguing team to me. Knicks should make that happen, revive the rivalry.

Doesn't that sound better than a super team to you Heat fans?

 

Thomas Galicia is still trying to figure out how to end this piece.  Leave a comment if you have a suggestion, or e-mail him at [e-mail], or just use that e-mail address to send him your suggestions. Follow him on twitter @thomasgalicia, and maybe he'll figure it out on his own. Let's Go Heat!