Most Heat reunions have worked out for better

MIAMI — With apologies to Thomas Wolfe, you can go home again, at least when it comes to the Miami Heat.

The reunion with Dwyane Wade is just the latest example of the Heat bringing back one of their own.

It is a pattern that has been repeated numerous times since Pat Riley assumed stewardship of the team in September 1995, most of the times (but not always) working out for the better.

Throughout this 30th-anniversary season, the South Florida Sun Sentinel will look back at three decades of the Heat, at the men and the moments that have made this an exhausting, exhilarating and enduring ride.

Today we look at the franchise’s Top 10 reunions. 10. Mickell Gladness (Five Heat contracts)

He only appeared for the Heat in 2011-12, in action in eight games for a total of 28 career Heat minutes. But he signed five (yes, five) times with the Heat from 2010 to 2012 (as a free agent on Sept. 27, 2010; as a free agent on Dec. 10, 2011; to a 10-day contract on Feb. 12, 2012; to a 10-day contract on Feb. 28, 2012; and as a free agent on Sept. 7, 2012). 9. Rafer Alston (2003-04, 2009-10)

It was just an odd reunion dynamic. Alston appeared in all 82 regular-season games during the Heat’s run to the 2004 Eastern Conference semifinals, then was brought back in the middle of the 2009-10 season only to start in all 25 of his appearances . . . and then walk away from the team that March, never to appear in another NBA game. 8. Ricky Davis (2000-01, 2007-08)

Ankle and knee injuries limited Davis to seven games in his initial stint, after being acquired in the Eddie Jones trade with Charlotte. The second time around there was more of his trademark scoring, appearing in all 82 games and starting 47 in 2007-08, averaging 13.8 points, albeit as part of a miserable ride to a 15-67 finish. 7. Chris Gatling (1995-96, 2001-02)

The unique forward arrived the first time as part of the Tim Hardaway trade with the Warriors in Feb. 1996, appearing in the Heat’s first-round playoff series against the Bulls. He then was acquired from Denver in the 2000 offseason only to be flipped later that summer to the Cavaliers. He returned in an August 2001 trade with Cleveland, appearing in 54 games with the Heat in 2001-02, a shell of his former scoring self. 6. Michael Beasley (2008-10, 2013-14, 2015)

Three, count ’em, three tenures with the Heat. First there were the two seasons as a primary rotation component after being drafted No. 2 in 2008 out of Kansas State. Then there was a reunion tour in 2013-14 for the run to the NBA Finals. And then, after a stint in China, another Heat tenure for the end of the 2014-15 season, when he averaged 8.8 points. 5. Eddie Jones (2000-05, 2006-07)

All but 35 of Jones’ 387 career Heat appearances came during the initial fiveseason stint, when he helped bridge the era between those playoff losses to the Knicks and the 2006 title. Dealt away before that 2005-06 championship season, the encore came after receiving a 2007 buyout from the Grizzles, an emotional return at the time similar to this Dwyane Wade encore. 4. Bruce Bowen (1997, 1999-01)

The initial stint was a single appearance after being added in March 1997 on a 10-day contract. But the second time around, Bowen appeared in 109 regular-season games, starting 74, also appearing in 13 playoff games during the height of the Heat-Knicks postseason rivalry. He returned a far more polished defensive prospect, starting to show his 3-point potential. 3. Dwyane (2004-16, 2018)

Whether this reunion meets the expectations remains to be seen, but the emotional impact of the return cannot be overstated. For the Heat, as a franchise, the arrival at the trading deadline from the Cavaliers brought closure to a period of doubt, of the most significant member of the franchise spending a season and a half, essentially, in the wrong colors. Wade 2. Ron Rothstein (1988-91, 2004-14)

After helping establish the franchise as the team’s initial coach during three trying expansion seasons, Rothstein returned to first help assist Stan Van Gundy in his transition to a head coach and then stood alongside Pat Riley for the Heat’s first championship and then Erik Spoelstra for the second and third. 1. Alonzo Mourning (1995-2003, 2005-08)

Often overlooked is that after leaving as a free agent in the 2003 offseason for the Nets and then returning in the middle of 2004-05 following a buyout from the Raptors, Mourning made 186 of his 593 career Heat regular-season appearances during his second tenure, one that included a significant contribution to the franchise’s first championship in 2006.

STAFF FILE PHOTO Alonzo Mourning returned to the Heat and played a major role in helping the franchise win its first title in 2006. Ron Rothstein was the Heat’s first coach and came back as an assistant under Stan Van Gundy and Erik Spoelstra.