Dwyane Wade is officially a member of the Chicago Bulls after he tweeted out his intentions Wednesday night and signed his contract the next morning. He also went on "Live with Kelly" to act as co-host with Kelly Ripa and to pretty throw his new Bull status in the face of Miami Heat team president Pat Riley.
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While that angered quite a few Heat fans, it probably didn't upset Riley as much as people might believe. Despite Wade becoming the face of the franchise for 13 years since he was drafted No. 5 in 2003, Riley hasn't seemed to make him an item of importance as far as free agent signings went the past few times Wade has entered free agency.
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Wade took a discount in order for the Heat to sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010 and he took another one in 2014 to bring back Bosh and welcome Luol Deng. He then took a one-year, $20 million contract in 2015 —- another discount —- so the Heat had flexibility this year to sign a max player.
RELATED: It didn't take long for the Wade hate to reach fiery levels
While everyone thought Pat Riley might be the guy to bring Wade back and convince him to stay on with the Heat, it seems he was the last guy who wanted to do that. According to Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald, Riley didn't even call Wade during the free agency process let alone meet with him.
While you're watching Kelly Ripa, one more nugget: Pat Riley never called Dwyane Wade during the entire process.
— Ethan J. Skolnick, 5 Reasons Sports (@EthanJSkolnick) July 7, 2016
The Heat also gave Hassan Whiteside a max contract before ever talking to Wade about his free agency. That didn't sit well with Wade and when Riley went to the Hamptons to meet with Kevin Durant, Wade had his own cryptic message to tweet out:
Relationships are important people!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 4, 2016
And that was pretty much the beginning of the end for the Heat. So the question now becomes; did Pat Riley even want Dwyane Wade to come back?
Of course Riley appreciates what Dwyane Wade has done for this team, but his message after his departure was littered with clues that this was actually the best route forward for everyone involved.
Like this one.
There will be another 10 years, and it will be someone or something else in 2026. Move on with no blood or tears.
And this.
I truly loved Dwyane, but families grow, change and get on with another life.
Riley isn't new to the game of free agency and attracting big names to South Beach so he surely didn't just botch up trying to bring back Wade. This was a purposeful maneuver and one that Riley clearly doesn't regret and may never depending on how well his new pieces play together or how poorly Wade may play into the twilight of his career. It's just sad to see two men who meant so much to each other end a relationship on terms that aren't exactly the friendliest.
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[h/t For The Win]
