It has always been assumed that Dwyane Wade would be with the Miami Heat for his entire career. The shooting guard signed a short-term contract last season that helped the Heat with salary cap situations while guaranteeing he remained in the post-LeBron James era. Wade has always made it clear that staying with the Heat is his intentions, but with a player option in his contract for next season that is no longer the case.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, Wade and the Heat are struggling to come to terms with his contract as negotiations on a possible extension are going nowhere. Wade has the chance to opt in on the second year of his contract worth $16 million, but the Heat would ideally like to give him an extension that would lessen his salary cap and allow Miami to have some free agency freedom.
Windhorst writes that Wade's contract signed last year was originally seen as a transition deal. The issue is the Heat want Wade to take yet another pay cut which could be his second in a row. According to the Miami Herald, the Heat are dealing with the idea of Luol Deng opting in on his option along with giving Goran Dragic a max contract. The team needs Wade to remain willing to take another drop in salary to make it all happen.
Barry Jackson of the Herald is reporting there is a significant different between what Wade wants to get paid and what Miami is willing to give him. The free agent market will not be kind to the star. He missed 20 games this year in another injury-plagued season. Getting higher than $16 million is simply not foreseeable. Jackson wrote, "Though Wade prefers to stay with the Heat, where he has spent his entire 12-year career, he is now open to leaving this summer if the Heat does not raise its offer, according to two sources with direct knowledge. Wade must decide by late June whether to opt out of a contract that would pay him $16.1 million next season."
If Wade were to leave Miami, the chances Dragic re-signs could be slim. The point guard has a lot of brewing interest around him with plenty of teams willing to shell out big money for him. Dragic told the Palm Beach Post that he likes Miami and the bond he has formed with the players, but if Chris Bosh is the only one left on the roster, the Heat look less appealing.
