Before Dwyane Wade left the Miami Heat, there were reports that he was "deeply angered" by their initial contract offer and negotiations had grown contentious. After he agreed to join the Chicago Bulls, it was reported that Heat president Pat Riley never called him during free agency. Riley told reporters in Miami that he has "great regret" over not doing more to convince Wade to stay.
Wade, though, has expressed nothing but admiration for Riley and the Miami organization. At his introductory press conference in Chicago on Friday, he said that he didn't leave because of anything Riley or the Heat did wrong.
"I have no rift with Pat Riley," Wade said. "It's funny that reports come out about a lot of different things. I've never seen nobody around me and Pat in the office when me and him have just been talking. I didn't see no one CCed on the emails that we talk about. I have no rift, I have nothing but respect for what he's done in this game."
Wade said that Miami's focus and his focus were "a little different than it's been in years past." He wanted to explore free agency, and he didn't know that he would leave, but he decided that the Bulls were the best team for him. He said he chose to be selfish and live out the dream of playing at home.
Chicago gave Wade a reported $47 million over two years. The Heat's final offer was reportedly two years and $41.5 million. When you factor in the lack of state income tax in Florida, it was about the same.
"Let's clear up the notion that Pat Riley orchestrated me getting out of Miami because he didn't offer me the money I wanted," Wade said. "This was not a money deal for me. If it was a money deal, I wouldn't be sitting here. I would've took the most money that was offered for me. At the end of the day, this was the place that I wanted to be."
When Wade met with the Heat, he sat down with owner Mickey Arison and CEO Nick Arison. He said this is how his contract talks have gone the last two years, and he wasn't upset that Riley wasn't involved.
"It wasn't because he didn't reach out to me," Wade said. "How petty is that? I sat at the table with the guys who pay the bills, and I knew they wanted me to still be there. But I wanted to be, ultimately, I wanted to be here."
If Wade was mad about how Miami handled things, he might never say it publicly. He spent 13 years with the franchise, and he knows that he'll be going back to have his jersey retired and maybe even help unveil a statue of himself one day. A public dispute won't do anything good for him or Riley, and they both know that.
Even if you take Wade at his word, though, it's hard not to wonder if things could have worked out differently. Could Riley or the Arisons have re-signed him if they met with him -- and not Hassan Whiteside -- as soon as free agency began? Could they have stopped him from even thinking about himself as a free agent with a strong initial offer? Wade said that his heart told him to go to Chicago, but it still feels like the Heat missed their chance to prevent him from even considering it. That is why Riley said he had great regret about the whole thing.
