Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade, LeBron James on same team: Why not?

By DAN LE BATARD
dlebatard@MiamiHerald.com

Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are always talking about what great friends they are. They are so bonded by shared sensibilities and experiences and excellences that Wade would stay at James' mansion when the Heat played in Cleveland. Both men say winning matters most. And here they are, at a career crossroads together, and all they have to do to find the best teammate available to them in free agency is look at each other.

Three years ago, they talked and decided together to sign similar contracts so that now, in a few days, they would have the same freedom of choice at the same time. In other words, they planned this; they've already teamed to make one really big business decision at a time of maximum value. Everything that has happened in the time since -- Wade exiting national relevance early every postseason while required to do too much heavy lifting alone, James winning every individual accolade without winning anything that matters -- brings them together now with just the right amount of appreciation and frustration and freedom and power and perspective in their prime.

Why in the name of all that is holy and sane wouldn't they choose each other?

Isn't this simple?

Hog the championships. Own the sport they love as young men. Make millions upon millions of dollars while teaming on commercials and winning and having fun. We can quibble about if their games fit together, which means you'd be arguing that it is better to have Amare Stoudemire with Wade than LeBron Bleeping James, but otherwise the only thing keeping them apart is something we all learn as little kids.

Sharing.

That's Plan A for salesman-to-the-stars Pat Riley, who has pushed all his chips to the middle of the table on free agency with a suited ace and a King. Riley knows how star-struck and event-driven this market can be. He copyrighted basketball flash and glitz in Los Angeles. He knows James-Wade will sell here in a way that Joe Johnson won't. So his job and his legacy now is to convince these two to share the stage and glory and fame the way he once sold Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, basketball's all-time leading scorer, on the hypnotic powers of Magic.

The entire upbringing and wiring of Wade and James in sports has preached team, harmony, unity and the importance of sacrifice, but here's the problem: Maybe neither of them wants to be Scottie Pippen. Athletes tend to lie or lack self-awareness when they say that all they want to do is win. What they really want is to be the reason for said winning. Michael Irvin articulated that well when he got bummed watching teammate Alvin Harper running toward the end zone in the Super Bowl with his football.

Maybe this is childish or maybe it is human nature, but there's something about this arena that turns muscular men into infants. That isn't a criticism. Growing up is overrated, and being a kid is forever fun. But you know that goofy thing the Cavs did before games? Where all the other players would gather for a team photo and James would kneel down and pretend to snap their picture with an imaginary camera?

You have to convince James to share that play camera with Wade and hope they don't fight over it. That's all you have to do for James and Wade to get all the toys and turn the league into their personal playpen.

It seems pretty simple, doesn't it?

Share winning with your friend or play defense to keep him from it? What would you do if it was your good friend?

Winning and championships are going to take a back seat to something as silly as Wade feeling threatened by a bigger star coming to his city? A-Rod was LeBron in this scenario once. He didn't come and steal New York from Derek Jeter.

Last week, I put the question to two basketball Hall of Famers, one NBA coach and one NBA owner: Why wouldn't two great players and great friends do this?

The owner said, ``Ask Orlando and Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill how that works. One friend may like a great sports town. The other may like the beach. And friends don't mean there are two balls in a game. LeBron and D-Wade both need the ball, and neither are knock-down shooters. So I don't know that those two together are better than LeBron with the cast he had in Cleveland. In fact, unless you got the right players, the Cleveland team is probably better.''

The coach said, ``Ego. Those two don't want to share the top billing. They want talent around them, but it has to be complementary talent. They want to win, but winning isn't the only thing or even the most important thing. The most important thing is their standing in comparison to their peers.''

Charles Barkley said, ``Attention. You'd be surprised how much guys want all the attention.''

Only Isiah Thomas made it sound like it was any kind of possible. Thomas was a champion and Hall of Famer and star before he was the basketball coach at FIU. I asked him, in his prime, how he would have felt if someone of the stature of James came to his team to overshadow him.

``I would feel lucky,'' he said.

Not threatened?

``Sometimes the moment calls for you to step forward,'' he said. ``Sometimes the moment calls for you to step back.''

But what about the idea that stars don't merely want to win but want to be the reason for winning?

``Those are the guys who always lose,'' Thomas said. ``Those are the guys that champions prey on. Those are the losers.''

That sounds good, right? So do this:

``If real winning is what you are pursuing, ego and money and glory don't get in the way,'' Thomas said. ``Great players always play well together until they win the championship. That's when the `disease of more' creeps in. But LeBron hasn't won. There's always an ego sacrifice with winning. Pau Gasol and Ron Artest can do a lot more scoring elsewhere. Kareem was the greatest player ever, and he gave room to Magic. Do you want to be The Man or do you want to be a champion? What really matters to you?''

Thomas has been a coach for a long time now. He says the things coaches teach once they have wisdom and perspective.

He laments all the ego in this generation of players. Problem is, he also flashes a Hall of Famer's teeth when I asked him what he would do if he were LeBron.

``Show me the hardest challenge,'' he says. ``I'd want to go to New York. That's the hardest place, right? Well, f--- you then. I'm going to do it there.''

NBA Predictions: LeBron James to New York, Dwyane Wade Staying in Miami

by
Brian Mosgaller
Correspondent Written on June 27, 2010

Believe it or not, the NBA’s free agency period is actually going to start later this week.

After months—nay, years of speculation and amateur prognostication, the biggest of the big names in basketball will finally start inking their John Hancock's to new deals, and the landscape of the NBA will be altered for the foreseeable future.

At this point, the list of potential signees is mesmerizing.

LeBron, D-Wade, Bosh, Boozer, Amar’e, and Joe Johnson, to name the cream of the crop.

The imminent frenzy—as well as the preceding financial preparation—is unprecedented.

As we speak, Miami has only three players under contract!

The Knicks have spent three years wheeling and dealing in an effort to maximize their available cap space.

But let’s not kid ourselves—all but two teams will emerge from The Great NBA Talent Realignment disappointed and wondering where their sales pitches went awry.

This is about two players, and two players only: LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

Every other big name on the market is only so appealing when placed next to one of these two generational stars.

So, the question is begged—who will be the two lucky teams?

Obviously, the only people that know the answer are James and Wade themselves (along with their inner-circles, and, most likely, World Wide Wes).

But here’s my best guess.

Unless LeBron and Wade actually do follow through on their hinted conspiracy to combine forces for NBA domination—which I’m betting will not happen—the scenario that makes the most sense is Wade remaining in Miami and LeBron heading to the Big Apple.

Earlier in this free agency period, Wade made it pretty clear that the ugly end to the Jordan/Jackson/Pippen-era in Chicago convinced him that returning to his home city was not going to happen.

He has also emphasized, again and again, that staying in South Beach would be his ideal situation.

The only bargaining chip necessary is for the Heat to put some real talent around him.

And by clearing enough cap space to lock up three max-contract players, the Heat will almost undoubtedly be able to fulfill Wade’s wishes.

As for LeBron, I’m thinking it boils down to either NY or Chicago.

We know that LeBron has always been very legacy conscious, and what better franchises to build a legacy with than the Knicks and Bulls.

While it would be great in my mind for James to stay in Cleveland to deliver a long-awaited title to the poor city, he has had enough of his hometown.

Sure, it will weigh on him that the only place he has ever lived or worked is going to hate him, but he has had enough of that pressure.

He has also had enough of his supporting cast.

Yes, adding a Chris Bosh or Amar’e Stoudemire would help, but unfortunately, he’s still working with Mo Williams (a mediocre shooting guard in a point guard’s body), Anthony Parker (the only NBA player who can say he’s worse than his sister), and Anderson Varejao (no comment necessary).

Do you think that sounds as enticing as signing in the Mecca of basketball, playing at a historic arena, and putting up a nightly triple-double under Mike D’Antoni alongside Carlos Boozer or Joe Johnson?

Plus, he’s got the likes of C.C. Sabathia, a former Cleveland star himself, telling him that winning in New York is unlike anything else.

Chicago may offer a better existing supporting cast, but unfortunately for the Windy City, it’s simply not the NBA’s biggest stage.

I concede that New Jersey may offer James the same viewing public—with an intriguing set of talent in place—but it won’t be leaving Newark for two years, and who wants to go to Newark?

Ultimately, though, it comes down to a domino effect: who will sign first out of the elite free agents?

If Boozer or Amar’e sign early with either Chicago or New York or New Jersey, it dramatically impacts the equation because the big two can then see tangible championship pieces set.

But, like I said, with all other things being equal, LeBron wants to be in New York and Wade wants to be in Miami.

It’s my contention that both of those franchises will do what they have to in order to make it happen.

Personally, I could see D-Wade, Boozer, and Amar’e joining forces in Miami, while James will team up with Joe Johnson and David Lee in Madison Square Garden.

That leaves Chris Bosh to unite with Derrick Rose in Chi-town, along with Rudy Gay.

Despite the riches of Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets will be left with the free agency scraps.

As for the Clippers? Ha!

Wade's agent: Don't call it a summit

ESPN.com News Services

The agent for Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh says the characterization of discussions among the NBA's top free agents as a "summit" are not accurate, according to CNBC.com.

Last week, Wade told the Chicago Tribune that he planned to talk with fellow free agents LeBron James and Joe Johnson before making a decision on where he would sign this summer. A source told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard that Bosh also would be part of those talks, and Amare Stoudemire, who is likely to opt out of the final year of his current contract with the Phoenix Suns, told AOL Fanhouse that he planned to be part of those talks, too.

But Henry Thomas, who represents Wade and Bosh, says conversations among players are not the same as a "summit."

"Dwyane never made reference to a summit," Thomas said, according to CNBC.com. "He said that he'd have conversations with some of these guys and that still will happen. These guys came into the league at the same time and they're in similar situations, so it's unrealistic to think that they won't talk. But there's no summit of any kind planned where they'll all be in the same location."

Wade insists he still hasn't started thinking about free agency. But having settled four lawsuits on Tuesday, the Miami Heat star says that's finally about to change.

Before leaving a Miami courtroom Tuesday, moments after the settlements in a restaurant case and three others were announced, Wade told The Associated Press he has not put together his "wish list" for the offseason, nor has he asked any other potential free agents about their plans.

He did repeat one thing: He wants to stay in Miami, saying "you know that hasn't changed." But to do that, he wants to see roster upgrades, which Heat president Pat Riley will desperately try to make happen starting with the July 1 opening of the NBA free agency window.

The word "summit" -- which invokes images of world leaders meeting at a central location to talk about global issues like economics, the environment and security -- is simply not what's going to happen, Thomas said, according to the report.

"The way it was first characterized and the way it continues to be characterized -- as if the only thing left to determine is a date and a location -- is not the reality," he said, according to the report.

"They're all friends and they all talk," added Happy Walters, who represents Stoudemire, according to the report. "But the idea that they're all in this together and they're going to say, 'OK, you go here and I go there,' that's not happening. People just need something good to talk about."

Thomas is part of CAA, a sports agency that also includes Leon Rose, the agent for James. That fact, Thomas acknowledged, does give the agency an advantage in pursuing deals for its clients, according to CNBC.com.

"To some extent, we do have control because we're all under the same umbrella," Thomas said, according to the report. "We're going to have really solid information on what's going on that will clearly benefit our guys. And that's the goal -- to get our players the best deals they can get."

James, Wade and Bosh became close while playing together on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal at the Beijing Games. While they've pondered the possibility of playing together in the NBA, only two of the stars are likely to wind up on the same team once the dust clears, given their likely salary demands.

Last week, the NBA said Wade did not break any league tampering rules with his comments.

Under league rules, players cannot tamper with other players, though it's a given that players talking among themselves not only happens, but is impossible to regulate.

The NBA metes out discipline only in what it said are "the most egregious" cases, and said Wade's comments "do not meet that standard."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.