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Grizzlies' Fizdale: Wade-Heat split 'a kick in the stomach to both of them'

Joe Skipper / REUTERS

Former Miami Heat assistant coach David Fizdale wasn't the only long-tenured employee to leave the franchise this offseason.

After Fizdale left to take the Memphis Grizzlies' head coaching job, Dwyane Wade turned his back on the Heat following a contract dispute, and signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls. He thus departed the only NBA team he'd ever known, after a magnificent 13-year tenure that included five Finals appearances and three championships, and saw him set new franchise records for total games, points, assists, and steals.

Though he's no longer part of the organization, Fizdale - who served on Miami's coaching staff from 2008 until this past spring - was deeply impacted by the split, as he knows both Wade and the Heat were.

"It was, quietly and when I was sitting alone, it was heartbreaking," he told Matt Moore of CBS Sports. "I have deep, deep affection for both sides of that. ...

"The idea of Dwyane Wade not being in a Heat uniform was a kick in the stomach. I spoke to both sides, and it was a kick in the stomach to both of them. Dwyane wasn't exactly jumping with joy to leave, though he's excited about a new opportunity and a new challenge. But he was hurt he didn't stay, and the Heat were hurt as well he didn't stay."

Fizdale is optimistic, however, that the two sides will patch things up eventually, and that the Heat will ultimately find the appropriate way to honor the most accomplished player in franchise history.

"Who knows what the future holds, you may see him back there in a year and everything's back to normal," he said. "But it doesn't change anything from the standpoint of what we all shared (and) accomplished together. That's something you can't ever take away. I know both sides understand that and eventually will come back together whether while he's still playing or in retirement.

"Let's be real about it, there's going to be a banner up there with his jersey on it and a big ol' statue of him out front of (American Airlines Arena) looking out over Biscayne Boulevard. So how can it not come back together?"

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