Wade’s No. 3 jersey vacant; Waiters to wear 11
MIAMI— TheHeat have issued numbers to their recently acquired players, and none of them has been given Dwyane Wade’s No. 3, not even the one who wore that number last season.
Instead, the Heat revealed Wednesday that Dion Waiters, who had worn No. 3 with both the Cavaliers and Thunder, had agreed to wear No. 11 with the Heat. No. 11 had been worn by forward Dorell Wright, the Heat’s lone remaining unsigned free agent from last season, as well as by Chris Andersen, who was dealt to the Grizzlies at midseason.
Wade wore No. 3 for his 13 seasons with theHeat before signing this offseason as a free agent with the Bulls. Wade will continue with No. 3 in Chicago, with forward Doug McDermott agreeing to switch toNo. 11.
The Heat are not expected to again issue No. 3, with Wade’s jersey eventually to be retired by the franchise. The Heat players towearNo. 3 before Wade’s arrival in 2003were Anthony Taylor, Scott Haffner, Steve Smith, Khalid Reeves, Bruce Bowen, Jamie Watson and LaPhonso Ellis.
After wearing No. 3 with the Cavaliers at the start of his career, WaitersworeNo. 23 and then No. 3 with the Thunder.
No. 23 has been retiredby the Heat in honor of Michael Jordan’s contributions to the game. The Heat also have retired the No. 33 of Alonzo Mourning and the No. 10 of guard Tim Hardaway, with the team this coming season to retire the No. 32 of Shaquille O’Neal. The Heat also have Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins No. 13 jersey in the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena, but that number has not been retired by the Heat.
Interestingly, the Heat also have not issued No. 6 amid this offseason’s roster makeover, apparently leaving open the option of eventually retiring thenumber LeBron James wore during his four-year tenure with the Heat, with the team advancing to the NBA Finals each season before his 2014 free-agent return to the Cavaliers.
Amid their roster makeover, the Heat have issued numbers to several other newcomers.
Forward James Johnson will wear No. 16, a number previously not issued by the team.
Forward Luke Babbitt will wear No. 5, which was worn last season by center Amar’e Stoudemire, a free agent who has retired.
Guard Wayne Ellington will wear No. 2, which was worn last season by forward Joe Johnson, who left as a free agent to theUtah Jazz.
Guard Rodney McGruder will wear No. 9, whichwasworn last season by forward Luol Deng, who left as a free agent to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Forward Derrick Williams will wear No. 22, which was last worn with the Heat by guard Danny Granger in 2015.
Center Willie Reed will wear No. 35, which last was worn with the Heat by forwardMalik Allen in 2005.
Forward Okaro White will wear No. 15, which last was worn by guard Mario Chalmers, who was traded last season to the Grizzlies and nowis a free agent.
Forward Stefan Jankovic will wear No. 29, a number Guard DionWaiters wore No. 3 while with the Oklahoma City Thunder, above, a number most recently worn on the Heat by worn by DorellWright and Chris “Birdman” Andersen.
previously not issued by the team.