Wade putting decision on hold
Heat free agent focusing on his son’s development
For the moment, Dwyane Wade is putting all business on hold. This week, it will be about love and basketball.
As the official ambassador for the event, the Miami Heat’s all-time leading scorer will be in Orlando for the first-ever Jr. NBA World Championship for 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world. The event will be held at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando.
“I only played one year of AAU,” Wade said of the circuits that lead to the college level, and beyond for some. “To say it’s different is not even the right term.”
Wade’s appearance comes as he deliberates his future and whether there will be a 16th NBA season and a continuation of the reunion tour with the Heat that began in February.
“I enjoyed being around the guys,” he said. “Obviously, I didn’t like the fact we lost 4-1 [to the Philadelphia 76ers] in the playoffs. But for me to get back to my comfort zone and show that being in the right situation with the right opportunities that I could still play this game — maybe not above the rim but play the game at a level that can help the team be successful — all those things for me were great.”
For the most part, the offseason has been about Wade watching his oldest son, Zaire, a high school junior, compete in AAU events along with the sons of some of his closest NBA friends.
“To be able to watch your kid do some-
thing that they love to do and do something that they’re passionate about, and to be a father that played a sport that your son and my nephew, as well, play this game, it’s just cool to watch them go through this process,” he said. “It’s something fun to be a part of, to support them, to coach them.
“And having friends’ kids, the same way. It’s cool that we all can go support each other. It means a lot when the kid’s father is there, but it means even more when a Carmelo [Anthony] or LeBron [James] or CP (Chris Paul) or myself show up to the other kids’ games, which we call our nephews.”
Wade said that is what makes this NBA step into such competitions as this week’s event so meaningful.
“One of the things I was excited about joining and being an ambassador of the Jr. NBA is that this is the purest form of basketball,” he said. “To be able to be around kids of this age, before it becomes a business, a real business, it’s exciting just to watch kids go out there and give everything they have. To see them pick up things from moment to moment, from minute to minute, to watch them grow, it’s just incredible. It’s something that I love to do.
“I get more passion watching my son play the game right now and more joy than I did even playing it myself. There’s just something about being a parent and watching your kid do something that you love and that they love to do.”
The advent of the tournament is part of the NBA’s initiative to return the focus to the developmental aspect of the sport.
“The talent that these young kids have nowadays is way, way, way more than we had at that age and couldn’t even imagine having,” Wade said. “It’s definitely exciting and fun to watch. But it’s another side of it that’s become a business side of it, which is unfortunate for some kids. A lot of kids get taken advantage of at an early age.”
In discussing the event, Wade opened a window into his priorities.
“Every decision at this point,” he said, “especially in a professional athlete’s career, at 36 years old, a lot of it surrounds their families and what’s best for them and their families.”
As for James, who Wade considers part of his family, there is the impending challenge of attempting to recreate the championship success with the Los Angeles Lakers that he found with the Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
“We’ve all watched teams in the past that came together we didn’t think could work and they worked, and teams that we thought could work couldn’t work,” Wade said. “I think they have a lot of talent. They have a lot of veteran leadership. They have a lot of young guys. If they want it to work, if they want to figure it out, I think they can.”