Dwyane Wade has officially accepted a one year deal to stay with the Miami Heat, after he initially considered leaving for the first time because of money; but the decision to resign became easier when he was reminded by the Heat’s top executives of what he means to the team, and how much the team values him.
Dwyane Wade then decided to stay with the Miami heat, and accepted the $20 million, one-year deal on Thursday for the next season. Wade had a $16.1 million left from his previous two-year deal, but as reported on NBA.com, he opted out with the hopes of sealing a better and longer term contract. For now, he is appeased with the better part, and here is what he said:
“Money-wise, I thought I did the best I could for myself and my family, and I also had the Heat in mind, Obviously it’s all about putting yourself in position to be able to compete. I love this organization. It crossed my mind to say, `If I’m going to handicap this organization by this contract, maybe the best situation is not to be there.’
A one-year deal for $20 million, I could never look at that and roll my eyes, I am from Robbins, Illinois. Look at what I’ve been through in my life.”
What helped him come to this conclusion was a series of conversations that he had with the Heat executives including the Heat CEO Nick Arison, the managing general partner Micky Arison, and they all reminded him of how important he is to the team, and the reason why they wanted him to stay; and here is what Wade said to the Associated Press in a telephone interview:
“Sitting down with Nick, sitting down with Micky and having conversations with them that I’ve never had, that was big for me,” I’ve never had a business conversation with one of them. … They got to show me how much they really wanted me to be here, how important it was for them that I continue to wear one jersey.”
“…Without those conversations,“I don’t think we would be at this point.”
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciated what they all said,”
“You go through so many emotions, It’s no secret that my goal was to sign a longer-term deal this summer. That’s what I was focused on. Once I realized that probably wasn’t the best thing for me right now, where everything is financially with the NBA and a lot of things coming up that we don’t even know about yet, a one-year deal isn’t a bad thing.”
