Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat have been locked in a fierce game of chicken over the past week for the second straight year. Wade wants more money from the Heat after constantly taking less to help the team contend. The Heat want to keep their future flexibility open and not commit too much money to a 34-year-0ld.
But after Kevin Durant headed to the Warriors, eliminating the Heat's pursuit, the Heat have reportedly doubled their offer to their franchise star to two-years, $40 million with a player option in the second season.
Heat has offered Wade 2 years, $40 million with a player option in second year.
— Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) July 4, 2016
That's a lot of money for an aging vet whose on-court production was good last year, but not his on-court impact by plus-minus standards.
What's interesting, however, is this is still considered a discount. Wade made $20 million last year at a $70 million cap, which was 29 percent of the cap. Under the $94 million cap for next season, Wade would be making over $27 million for the same amount.
He's making the same amount, but a lower percentage. And that could be a problem. There have been reports linking Wade to the Bucks and Nuggets, but several league sources have indicated they continue to feel that is mostly leverage and that those talks have been exaggerated for effect, with the belief still that Wade returns to Miami eventually.
On Monday, Wade tweeted the following:
Relationships are important people!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 4, 2016
Hassan Whiteside agreed to a max deal with the Heat and they lost Luol Deng to the Lakers in free agency. We'll see whether they retain the best player in franchise history.
