National Basketball Association

Miami wants to know: Will Wade stay or go?

Published Jan. 9, 2010 12:00 a.m. ET

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By CHRIS PERKINS
Special to FOXSports.com

It would be easy to believe that right now, at this very moment, Dwyane Wade is fantasizing about free agency and plotting an exit from Miami. After all, he wants to win championships.

And, as the five-time All-Star guard says of this year’s Heat, “we’re not championship-bound."

Wade, who has already said he’ll opt out of his contract at season’s end and become part of the blockbuster free-agent class of 2010, has numerous other reasons to dream about leaving Miami.

Although Wade stubbornly insists his mind stays in the present, on improving this season’s team, think about what’s at stake in his near future:

• Heat president Pat Riley might not return. His contract expires at the end of the season, and he hasn’t said whether he’s coming back.

• Wade, who delivered Miami the 2006 title in one of the best NBA Finals performances, has said his goal for his next team is “to be put in a position where I can win for my career and where my team competes for a championship.”

Miami hasn’t been such a team. Since winning the 2006 title, the Heat have a 120-160 (.427) regular-season record. They own a 3-8 (.273) playoff record in two postseason appearances during that three-plus-season span. They haven’t even advanced out of the first round. That’s nowhere near competing for a championship.

• This season has brought a heavier burden than Wade thought.

“It might be a little greater this year,” Wade allowed. “But I can’t analyze it yet because I’m in the midst of it. I’ve got a game every other day; I can’t do that.”

Wade, in his seventh season, is headed for a sixth consecutive All-Star berth. He’s averaging 26.9 points, slightly above his career average of 25.3. But he’s shooting a career-worst .443 from the field. Of course, that might be because he’s carrying an 18-16 team.

Nevertheless, last month Riley – who can’t surround Wade with better talent because the Heat is $2 million over the luxury tax threshold – said his superstar guard’s poor shooting is due to poor conditioning. Ouch. That was during the same conversation in which Riley said no one is “walking around on eggshells because of Dwyane.”

Wade has a lot on his mind, to be sure. But despite all the reasons to dream about leaving Miami, Wade insists he’s not allowing his mind to drift to free agency.

“Of course, it’s frustrating at times for all of us when things are not going the way you want,” Wade said. “But in my personal thoughts I'm not elsewhere. I’m here. I’m in Miami. And this is where I want to be, so I'm going to do what I can to get it right. That’s just the thing, when the offseason comes, the offseason comes, and you have to think about it in a different way. But right now, my mind is not elsewhere, or looking somewhere else. My mind is here.”

When the offseason eventually rolls around, nervous Heat fans can rest easier in the notion their team has perhaps the biggest recruiting advantage the NBA can offer Wade – Riley.

Wade has constantly said his No. 1 choice is to return to Miami. But Wade also wants his next team to have a front office that makes the necessary moves to stay relevant in the title hunt every year.

Wade realizes he has that in Miami, where Riley has never failed to pull the trigger on seismic shakeups. Whether it was signing versatile forward Lamar Odom (2003), trading to acquire titan Shaquille O’Neal (2004), or making the five-team, 13-player deal (2005) that landed guard Jason Williams and forwards James Posey and Antoine Walker, pillars of the championship team, Riley has made moves. Wade loves being with Riley. He respects Riley.

“Coach Riley did one of the biggest trades in NBA history,” Wade said, “and we won a championship out of it. It worked. So we have one of those front offices that is willing to do it. I'm in a great organization for that. I understand that.”

Wade won’t say whether his return is tied to Riley’s. But you’d have to think playing for a Riley-less Heat would be a major downer. And there’s no bigger fear for Heat fans than Wade, the franchise’s savior, bolting to another team in a fit of frustration. Imagining no Wade and no Riley might push Heat fans into revolt. Wade is aware of such fears.

“Everyone wants it to be perfect and for it to play out perfect – Pat’s here, and I’m here, and so forth – and we would love to have a perfect ending,” he said. “But we’re going to have to sit down and figure it out. Micky (Arison, Heat owner), at the end of the day, has the final decision on everything that we all want to do, so we have to sit down with our owner as well and go forward.”

Wade could get a maximum contract of six years, $120 million for re-signing with Miami. According to league rules, if he goes to another team, the max contract goes down to five years, $90 million. The Heat will be flush with money during the offseason. It will have enough to sign Wade and another max contract player if it chooses to go that route.

But Chicago, Wade’s hometown team, will also have that kind of money. So will New York, where Wade could play on the world’s biggest stage. Then there’s New Jersey, where Wade’s friend, hip-hop artist Jay-Z, is a part owner. Wade will look around.

He has said he’d probably enjoy being wined and dined during free agency. He said it’d be similar to the way he was courted during college recruiting and before the NBA draft. He’s also said he’ll have dinner with Cleveland’s LeBron James and Toronto’s Chris Bosh, who will also be free agents during the summer, and they’ll debate their options.

That should be an interesting night.

“We’re all friends; we’re all boys,” Wade said. “I decided with LeBron to sign this deal to give ourselves the flexibility in the three years. So we’re going to sit down again and talk about it.”

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