Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition

Wade’s No. 3 jersey vacant; Waiters to wear 11

- By Ira Winderman iwinderman@sunsentine­l .com; on Twitter @iraheatbea­t or go to facebook.com/ ira.winderman

MIAMI — The Heat 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 the Heat 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 to No. 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 to wear No. 3 before Wade’s arrival in 2003 were 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, Waiters wore No. 23 and then No. 3 with the Thunder.

No. 23 has been retired by 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 the number 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 the Utah Jazz.

Guard Rodney McGruder will wear No. 9, which was worn 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 forward Malik 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 now is a free agent.

Forward Stefan Jankovic will wear No. 29, a number previously not issued by the team.

 ?? AP FILE PHOTO ?? Guard Dion Waiters wore No. 3 while with the Oklahoma City Thunder, above, a number most recently worn on the Heat by worn by Dorell Wright and Chris “Birdman” Andersen.
AP FILE PHOTO Guard Dion Waiters wore No. 3 while with the Oklahoma City Thunder, above, a number most recently worn on the Heat by worn by Dorell Wright and Chris “Birdman” Andersen.

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