NBA Rumors: D-Wade Calls It a Day in Miami This Summer
Just a few games after Dwayne Wade has returned to the team that got its first NBA championship mostly from his efforts, the player is thinking of retirement.
The Miami Heat first drafted Dwayne Wade fifth overall in 2003, in a draft that also included the likes of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Bosh. Three years later, Wade would team up with Shaquille O'Neal to topple the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA finals.
Miami would not get another championship until James and Bosh would join Wade in a big-three combination that would give the team multiple NBA titles. When James left the team for Cleveland in 2014, the Miami Heat also saw Chris Bosh being diagnosed with a blood-clot illness. Wade would transfer to Chicago, before reuniting with Lebron in Cleveland this season.
Many were surprised when Wade, along with five other Cleveland players, was let go at the trade deadline. The Cavaliers were clearly in disarray and in a dire need of a solution to return to finals contention. The result was Wade patching things up with Miami Heat team president Pat Riley and returning to the team that first drafted him.
Having turned 36 in January of this year, Wade still shows flashes of brilliance in his game. When the Heat played against the Philadelphia 76ers at home recently, the crowd went up on its feet when Wade sank the contested winning jump shot from about 18 feet.
It was like a vindication for Wade, whom many analysts have described as lacking outside shooting. Wade has also been criticized in the past - particularly during his time in Chicago - for not practicing anymore at his age of 36. Certainly, it would seem that his abilities are slowly fading at times:
In a game against Sacramento, he missed a breakaway dunk without anyone touching him.
Now that he is contemplating retirement, according to a report via Sir Charles In Charge, the return to Miami is the golden opportunity for Wade to go out in style. The decision, though, is still up in the air.
According to the shooting guard, it all depends on the position of the organization or the direction the team is headed; and if he is playing next season, it will still be in a Miami Heat uniform.
