Almost a year later, Miami Heat president Pat Riley is still unhappy with how the team handled Dwyane Wade's free-agent departure to the Chicago Bulls.
"I know he feels I didn't fight hard enough for him," Riley told ESPN's Wright Thompson in a profile of the 72-year-old executive. "I was very, very sad when Dwyane said no. I wish I could have been there and told him why I didn't really fight for him at the end."
Riley said Wade's agent, Henry Thomas, had asked to deal directly with Heat owner Micky Arison instead of himself, and he was fine with that. Yet this past February, Wade said not talking to Riley during the negotiations left a bad taste.
"He didn't show he wanted me there," Wade said.
Riley told ESPN that, in retrospect, he shouldn't have given Chris Bosh a five-year, $119-million contract in 2014, preventing him from allocating more money for Wade two years later.
Bosh's career is likely over due to blood clots that've kept him out of action since February 2016.
Riley aimed to add another feature player to complement Wade, but the opportunity never materialized.
"The one thing I wanted to do for him, and maybe this is what obscured my vision, but I wanted to get him another player so he could end his career competitive," he said.
