The Denver Nuggets "continue to have active interest" in signing free agent guard Dwyane Wade, according to ESPN's Marc Stein, who also reported that the Milwaukee Bucks are still scheduled to meet with him. Wade, who has been a member of the Miami Heat since he was drafted in 2003, is reportedly upset about the way Pat Riley's front office has approached the offseason.
Wade has been on vacation in Spain, but he has reportedly insisted that he will go through with meetings when he returns. The New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls were believed to be possible destinations, but now they no longer have cap room to make a signing work. The Dallas Mavericks were also rumored suitors, though there is serious doubt that Mavs owner Mark Cuban and star Dirk Nowitzki would ever join forces with Wade, a longtime rival.
Of the initial list of Heat alternatives, that leaves the Bucks, who didn't have the cap space for Wade's desired $20 million contract in the first place (but could trade, say, Greg Monroe), and the Nuggets, who still do.
Translation: Unless another team emerges, Denver and Milwaukee are Wade's only real leverage ... if Miami actually believes he will go to either of those places. It is unclear whether or not it does.
The good (?) news for Wade and the Heat: It appears they're out of the running for Kevin Durant. That makes the mathematics of keeping him a little simpler. Maybe when he gets back from vacation, he and Riley can sit down and go over the particulars of the team's financial situation and how retaining Wade fits into the goal of fielding a competitive roster.
Or maybe Wade will come back and tell Riley that he's decided to finish his career with the Nuggets or Bucks. Which scenario seems more likely to you?
