Whispers about Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade leaving town have grown louder in recent weeks as NBA free agency approaches. Not helping matters in the eyes of devoted Heat fans is the reported interest from the Los Angeles Lakers.
While many execs still see Wade/Heat as contract saber rattling, a Wade option will be the Lakers. Mutual interest, per league sources.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) June 21, 2015
At first glance, this may seem like a poorly thought out idea. Wade and Kobe Bryant both play at shooting guard and neither has been able to stay consistently healthy over the last several years. There's no guarantee you can reliably get 30-plus minutes a night or 60-plus games a year from either player at this point. It's not the best move for a rebuilding team trying to get younger.
However, Matt Moore of CBSSports.com believes there is some logic in the pairing.
"Wade could come in on a short-term, big-money contract that allows the Lakers to be more competitive next season while keeping their money available for 2016 and beyond when they look for the next true star to put next to their two young stars, Julius Randle and whoever they draft next week," Moore wrote. "Wade can play two-guard and Bryant shifts to 3. It's not great from a defensive standpoint given where they both are physically, but there would be nights where they's turn back the clock and dominate games."
Of course, this could all be just a ruse to force Miami into upping their offer for their longtime face of the franchise. Nothing opens up wallets faster than the rumored free agent interest of the big-market Los Angeles Lakers. Even Pat Riley has to take note of something like that.
But Wade's camp has been making quite a bit of noise for a while now and where there is smoke...Well, you know the rest. Wade has to be looking at Chris Bosh's health and Goran Dragic's ceiling and wondering if this roster is worth sticking with. That's not to say that L.A.'s is any better (it's not), but maybe in the twilight of his career Wade is looking for a little more off-court ambiance than Miami has to offer.
We'll keep you updated as the NBA continues to approach free agency.
