Wade returning to Heat for a final season
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade looked into the camera, stood alone in the middle of a darkened room and talked for 10 minutes. He struggled with his words at times, unable to control his emotions. He wept.
And finally, he made what he called the hardest decision of his life. One more year. Retirement needs to wait a little bit longer for Wade, who announced Sunday night in a video taped earlier in the day that he’s returning for a 16th and final NBA season. He basically spent the entirety of the last four months weighing his options, and retirement — even just a few days ago — was an extremely real possibility in his mind.
“I’ve always did things my way,” said Wade, who is expected to sign a $2.4 million, one-year deal later this week.
He spent 2016-17 in his hometown of Chicago, then began last season with Cleveland. Wade returned to the Heat in a trade last February, appearing in 26 games including playoffs, enamoring Miami again even while coming off the bench and averaging 12.9 points. His impact on the court was clear, and so was his impact off the court — Wade was very involved in the response to the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead, including a student named Joaquin Oliver who was a Heat fan.
“Let’s enjoy it,” Wade said. “Let’s have some joy through this last season. Let’s push this young team over the hump and let’s write our own story to the end of this career, together. Together.”