Dwyane Wade is back in Miami for his first game against the team that drafted in him in 2003, and he has a lengthy email in his inbox. Yes, Miami Heat president Pat Riley has finally sent the email to Wade that he's been talking about since mid-July.
From the South Florida Sun Sentinel's Dave Hyde:
I hope he got it,'' Riley said 90 minutes before Wade's Chicago Bulls played for the first time in AmericanAirlines Arena. "You know those guys changing phone numbers and emails ..."
Wade said an hour before the game he had got the email but hadn't had time to read it. They both said there wasn't any giant rift in their relationship by not talking over the summer of change.
"I've spoken through you guys [reporters],'' Wade said. "He's heard me loud and clear. I'm very appreciative of Pat, of what we created here together. There's nothing to squash [as far as bad feelings]."
...
"After 13 years together, we don't need a talk or email just to justify how we feel about each other,'' Riley said.
Riley said he had "butterflies,'' for this game, joking in part that Wade was in a Chicago uniform and that, "Michael [Jordan] and Scottie [Pippen] beat me so often."
It still seems a little weird that Riley and Wade haven't actually spoken since the future Hall of Famer decided to sign with his hometown Chicago Bulls. While Riley called Wade a "Heat icon" and has said nothing but positive things about him, it's hard not to believe the reports that indicated the guard and the organization were at odds during contract negotiations in the summer. Both sides, however, understand that they will be forever linked and are keeping up appearances.
