Dwyane Wade Rumors: Wade Hints At Leaving Miami Heat?

Rumors surrounding Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade took an interesting turn at the 2015 NBA Finals. Wade may have hinted at leaving the Miami Heat during the NBA offseason, possibly using the national stage as a subtle way to tell his fans about it. As reported by the Washington Post early Wednesday (June 17), Wade was serving as an analyst at Game 6 of the NBA Finals. When it was his turn to talk on a topic, he started out a sentence by stating, “When I was in Miami.” Using the past tense to refer to the time he spent with the Miami Heat caused many people on social media to lose control.

As previously reported on the Inquisitr, there have been a number of rumors about Wade opting out of his contract with Miami. It would allow him to become a free agent during the offseason, potentially giving him a shot to sign with a team like the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers need to fill a number of roster slots and will certainly have the salary cap space to make a deal like that. It might crush a lot of Heat fans if that is the route that Wade takes, though, even if he doesn’t get a good contract offer from the only NBA franchise he has played for.

Wade is a three-time NBA champion, having won one title as a teammate of Shaquille O’Neal, and then two more with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. He will enter the 2015-16 NBA season as a 33-year-old veteran, but the 152 additional playoff games as well as his time with Team USA have put a lot of additional wear on his body. When he was on the court this past season, Wade was again a force for the Heat, averaging 21.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. The biggest question about his future, though, is how many games he can play in a season.

Wade has a player option of $16.125 million for the next NBA season, but he can opt out and become a free agent. That would allow him to be pursued by other franchises, but the Miami Heat could also offer him a new multi-year deal. That might be a good course for the team to take, especially if he will take a hometown discount. The hard news to take is that the team might need to go in a different direction if he wants a max deal. That would allow Dwyane Wade the excuse to go to another team and chase down another NBA title with a second franchise. Does he already have a plan in place?

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