Dwayne Wade's legacy as a basketball player is unparalleled. And his contribution to the Miami Heat's success can hardly be ever questioned. So when you hear that while he was still with the Heat, in the prime of his career, there was a time when he was overlooked for a young talent like Hassan Whiteside, well, you have got to think: What were they even thinking? And that's what Wade himself asked when he heard about what the Miami Heat had in plans.
Dwayne Wade knew his worth and knew to fight for it
Dwyane Wade is probably the greatest player in Miami Heat franchise history. Him getting sidelined because of some young talent, who was playing the G league before that, would offend anyone. That was the biggest reason for Wade to leave the Heats and join the Chicago Bulls back in 2016. Even if, at that point, he was highly coveted as a big man center, that did not stray from the fact that Wade was already a tried and proven part of the franchise by then.
Speaking to Lou Williams and Spank Horton on "The Underground Lounge," Wade said:
“They wanted to go after Kevin Durant. We had Hassan Whiteside, a player who came out of the G League, had a great year, and was up for $100 million. I’m sitting here like, I want young fella to get his money… but y’all about to pay him over me? Take care of me first. Then, let’s take care of young fella. Because I’ve shown it. I’ve proven it. This is proven. And they didn’t do it. They didn’t get Kevin Durant, either.”This led to Wade leaving the Heat for the Bulls, and things between them turned sour. Having the best player in your franchise history get neglected over a young and upcoming talent, who eventually ended up as yet another washed up player in the NBA, was probably not the best decision on the part of the Miami Heat.
Miami Heat hit a slump after Dwayne Wade left
Things took a turn in the relationship between
Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat back in 2016 when the player was up for a new contract. Having spent his whole career with the Heat up till then and winning three championships with the team, learning that they valued an up-and-coming talent over you would get to anyone, especially if that person is Wade, who is considered a Miami Heat legend.
The franchise was unwilling to spend a big sum on his contract extension but wanted to see if they could get their hands on Kevin Durant, who was at the top of his game that season. Instead of getting Durant, they even ended up losing Wade, whose contract had expired by the end of that season. But this whole fiasco led to a slump in the performance of Miami Heat which continued for the next few seasons.
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