Back home to Wade County
The question was never whether Dwyane Wade would return to the Heat. It was when and how.
This is such a great move. So wonderfully, heartwarmingly great. Dwyane Wade returning to the Heat might not have anything to do with how this season will play out, which probably will remain decidedly less than great. But that’s why trading a spare second-round pick for Wade is so great. Pat Riley didn’t make this move as a champion archichampion tect. He made it as a marketer first. He made it as a champion dream maker. He made it as someone who can’t get close to the trophy but can get close to the heart. “We’re back to Wade County, all right?” Riley said late Thursday afternoon. If you can’t be great, be warm. If you can’t be contending, be interesting. If you can’t get the next great player out there at the trade deadline, get that golden oldie who gives a boost and provides
a little feelgood. OK, a lot of feelgood. Wade is such a golden oldie at this point that he should join the dance troupe during a timeout. What’s not to like here? The question was never whether Wade would return to the Heat. It was when. It was how. It was what he still can bring to the table. Which, again, won’t be enough to contend but still could be more than expected.
“All of us have to realize he’s not the Dwyane Wade of 2006 against Dallas, but he’s a facsimile of that,” Riley said. “The fact that he decided to come off the bench in Cleveland limited his opportunities to do certain things he’s always been capable of doing.
“I would imagine he would morph right into the role of being a frontline scorer for us. He can still play. A defender on the ball in need situations. I go back to the old-school plus-minus ratings and he’s the 12th-best two-way guard in the league. In the contemporary analytics, he’s 15th, 16th.”
Too ambitious? We’ll see. The larger point is we’ll see up close, firsthand, in a way that is good news for everyone. Wade and the Heat had an amicable separation two summers ago — at least as amicable as separations go. Wade wanted more money than the Heat wanted to give. Fine. That’s business.
If things didn’t work out for Wade in Chicago last year, if his reunion tour with LeBron James became a squabbling tour with Cleveland this year, that simply opened the door for Thursday’s trade. Wade was sufficiently tired of dysfunction and humbled by issues. The Heat have been reminded as of late that they have seventh-place-inthe-East talent. The price was cheap for a trade.
So again, what’s not to like?
Riley’s hopes might be too ambitious over the long run. But can Wade supply a big moment or two? Will he inject some energy into a season needing some? Might he be an option for a late shot the Heat’s having trouble with?
What would you give to watch him make a late shot and jump on a courtside table for an encore rendition of, “This is my house!” That’s the kind of dream this move allows.
This return needs no introduction. Wade grew up before our eyes, from that rookie on wobbly legs who won a playoff series against New Orleans to the champion who led the takedown of Dallas and then the formation of The Big Three.
He became this generation’s Dan Marino in South Florida. He was that big, that good, that kind of a generational player on a generational franchise. And now he’s back home for the final stretch of his career.
If the Heat and Wade needed this to mend their relationship, fans did, too. They were split on Wade’s leaving. Some felt the pain of his departure. Others felt he was too greedy. But there’s no need to debate how this reunion feels. Just on what it means.
What a perfect time for this return, too. Look how dreary South Florida’s pro sports scene is. The Dolphins are trying to piece hope back together again. The Marlins are broken. The Panthers are in a small winning patch, but aren’t yet on a playoff road. And the Heat, again, have lost five in a row.
Sometimes you get the happy ending in sports. Jason Taylor got it with the Dolphins by returning after a time away for one final run in the South Florida sun.
Now Wade gets that run. And the Heat gets it. But this isn’t about all those yesterdays as Riley frames this trade. It’s about tomorrow.
“For all of you who know me, warriors don’t live in the past,” Riley said. “Life is now. And the future is waiting.”