Wade’s farewell tour now getting underway
Heat legend grateful for return and will take any role — but would love to start.
On the eve of his final training camp at FAU today, the Heat star says he was “90/10” sure his career was over last season.
Long before the Wade
MIAMI — 3:16 hoodie was manufactured, Dwyane Wade wasn’t sure No. 3 would be back for his 16th season.
In fact, he was sure the last chapter of his on-the-court story had been written.
“I was about 90/10 it was over,” Wade said about the days follow
ing the disappointing end to the Miami Heat season after Game 5 of the opening round of the playoffs against Philadelphia last spring.
“The messages kept coming back that you’re fortunate enough to control how it ends. I’m going to be very uncomfortable with this. I’m going to be very uncomfortable with the farewell tour. So I just look at it as me saying goodbye.”
Wade has dubbed this “One Last Dance,” which is ironic because “I don’t even know how to dance.” But he is back, a decision that took all offseason and wasn’t a lock in his mind until having one last conversation with coach Erik
Spoelstra a week ago Friday and then hitting the golf course two days later and realizing “I wasn’t as good at golf as I thought.”
In a season that will be defined by “Dwyane Wade’s final (fill in
the blank),” Wade held his final preseason news conference Monday on the day before the first day of his final training camp, which begins today at Florida Atlantic University.
“I think it’s the right player, the right organization, the right coaching staff, the right timing for all of this,” said Spoelstra, who starts his 11th season as head coach. “I just look back to two years ago, probably there weren’t many of us that would know whether we’d have this opportunity again.
“It’s a blessing. I’m going to treat it with the appropriate respect. I want him to know that I’m going to give it everything I have to make sure it goes the way he wants it to. In return, for him to give it everything he has to make sure this team goes the way we want it to.”
And although this decision wasn’t easy, it’s one Wade is grateful he was in a position to make. If you asked him 15 years ago, when he was preparing for his first Heat training camp after being selected fifth overall, he was hoping just to squeeze a decade out of his career.
Wade, 36, wasn’t sure his style was conducive to more than 10 years of 82-to-100 NBA games a season.
“I’m sh o cked I’m sit- ting here and we’re talking about 16 seasons,” he said. “I didn’t think I would get there because I knew the way I played and what I was going to give to the game was going to be reckless.”
Wade has no preconceived notions about how the season will go other than peo- ple will tell him, “How great you were ... not that you are, that you were.” He’s knows — though neither he, Spoels- tra, or his teammates would acknowledge — that this will not be a storybook ending. The Heat are not close to winning a championship.
He says he has “no idea” how his season will play out the basketball stuff. It’s the and understands he may not bigger things that we want even have a say in that with to be aligned on and be able injuries, always a possibility to work together to impact when players age. this whole group, that’s the
“I cannot wait to see how it exciting thing.” ends,” Wade said. “I hope it Wade is prepared for any ends amazing, but you never role. know how a season is going “I haven’t always been the to end. They all end differ- No. 1 option,” he said. “I’ve ently and you take some pos- been No. 1, I’ve been No. 2, itives and pull some nega- I’ve been No. 3. I’ve been the tives out. But I don’t think clap guy on the bench. I’ve I’m going to pull no nega- been it all over my career.” tives out of this year. I’m just But Wade didn’t forge a going to pull all the positives Hall of Fame career without out and ride off on that.” being ultra-competitive, a
The focus early will be on side of Wade that came out Wade’s role. After returning Monday. via a trade-deadline deal in “You ask a player like February, Wade came off the myself, ‘Do you want to bench, something he set- start?’ That’s like asking, tled into in Cleveland early ‘Do you want breakfast in in the season and embraced the morning?’ ” he said. “‘Of in Miami. course, I’m hungry, I want
Still, he was treated as a breakfast in the morning.’ star and had a few games Of course, I would love to.” that were vintage Wade, Spoelstra spent the sumreminding all why he is a mer being asked about three-time champion and Wade’s future as much as 12-time All-Star. Wade was asked about his
The capper was the Heat’s future. “Everywhere I went short-lived stay in the playfor brunch or coffee or din- offs in which he was primar- ner, ‘We want Wade back,’ ily responsible for Miami’s ” Spoelstra said. lone win. His answer, “So do I.”
“We discussed it a little And now he’s got him, for bit, but that’s the minutia,” one last dance.
Spoelstra said. “There’s so many bigger things. We’ve always been able to figure out