Unlike Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and of course Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade will not have been the player of a single franchise. In 2016, to everyone’s surprise, the three-time NBA champion left the Heat for the Bulls. At the time, Pat Riley bet tens of millions of dollars on Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside, and Wade felt insulted by his leaders. The Chicago Bulls, his hometown, offered him a huge contract for the time: 47 million dollars over two years. He had never received such a salary in Miami…
“When he left, there were resentments on both sides. But they were not redhibitory » remembers the president of the Heat. “I was sad to see him go. I was upset that he left. I knew we could find a solution, but we didn’t. We failed to find a solution as he wanted, and it is our fault. Even after joining Chicago and then Cleveland, he wanted to come back, and so did we…”
“When you value a relationship, you always manage to find solutions”
Finally, Dwyane Wade will return to play a season and a half, and Pat Riley was keen on it.
“Even when Zo left for the Nets, he came back,” Riley recalls. “And without him, we don’t win in 2006. That’s why you worry about a player leaving, because of the hurt manner and feelings. When he said, ‘I would like to come back to Miami,’ we brought him back and I did it with open arms. And we know how it ended for him. It ended with a great year and a great retirement, the retirement of his jersey and a first-class speech. »
And Riley reminds us that relationships in sport are complex, especially when a player leaves a team. You have to know how to distinguish between the emotional and the professional.
“So it’s not easy. Sometimes this sport can harm relationships. But we have to find a way to fix it. We had other times when our relationship broke down. But we are getting there. Player, coach. President, coach. President, player. Never mind. When you value a relationship, you always manage to find solutions. And I think for 28 years in Miami we’ve been about relationships. They don’t all work, but this one did.”
“We are united like the fingers of the hand, forever”
Riley knew Wade as a coach, then as president, and he thanks him for doing everything to make their relationship stronger over time.
“As a coach, I was very hard on him”acknowledges Riley. “I was tough on him. I love it. We argued. He knew that I thought he was great and that I was going to put him in a position to be the one who would lead us to the championship title, because he was our best player at the time. When I stopped coaching, the relationship grew to the point where we had the Big Three (with James and Bosh) and we lived through those four years. There was a little separation when he moved to Chicago, but we worked it all out, and I give Dwyane a lot of credit, because he didn’t blame the coach or the management or the GM. . When players leave, there is sometimes resentment. But Dwyane grew out of this situation. Even if he now lives in Los Angeles and has a great non-sports career, we are united like the fingers of the hand, forever. »
| Dwyane Wade | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2003-04 | MIA | 61 | 35 | 46.5 | 30.2 | 74.7 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 16.3 |
| 2004-05 | MIA | 77 | 39 | 47.8 | 28.9 | 76.2 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 6.8 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 1.1 | 24.1 |
| 2005-06 | MIA | 75 | 39 | 49.5 | 17.1 | 78.3 | 1.4 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 6.7 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 27.2 |
| 2006-07 | MIA | 51 | 38 | 49.1 | 26.6 | 80.7 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 7.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 27.4 |
| 2007-08 | MIA | 51 | 38 | 46.9 | 28.6 | 75.8 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 6.9 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 24.6 |
| 2008-09 | MIA | 79 | 39 | 49.1 | 31.7 | 76.5 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 7.5 | 2.3 | 2.2 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 30.2 |
| 2009-10 | MIA | 77 | 36 | 47.6 | 30.0 | 76.1 | 1.4 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 6.5 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 26.6 |
| 2010-11 | MIA | 76 | 37 | 50.0 | 30.6 | 75.8 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 25.5 |
| 2011-12 | MIA | 49 | 33 | 49.7 | 26.8 | 79.1 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 22.1 |
| 2012-13 | MIA | 69 | 35 | 52.1 | 25.8 | 72.5 | 1.3 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 21.2 |
| 2013-14 | MIA | 54 | 33 | 54.5 | 28.1 | 73.3 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 19.0 |
| 2014-15 | MIA | 62 | 32 | 47.0 | 28.4 | 76.8 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.3 | 21.5 |
| 2015-16 | MIA | 74 | 31 | 45.6 | 15.9 | 79.3 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 19.0 |
| 2016-17 | CHI | 60 | 30 | 43.4 | 31.0 | 79.4 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 18.3 |
| 2017-18 * | All Teams | 67 | 23 | 43.8 | 28.8 | 71.4 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 11.4 |
| 2017-18 * | KEY | 46 | 23 | 45.5 | 32.9 | 70.1 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 11.2 |
| 2017-18 * | MIA | 21 | 22 | 40.9 | 22.0 | 74.5 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 12.0 |
| 2018-19 | MIA | 72 | 26 | 43.3 | 33.0 | 70.8 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 15.0 |
| Total | 1054 | 34 | 48.0 | 29.3 | 76.5 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 22.0 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
