Wade uncertain if he will play next season
Dwyane Wade doesn't sound too certain about a return to the NBA next season.
After being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, the franchise he spent 13 seasons with, Wade is ready to begin considering the possibility he won't be back next year.
"I don’t know," Wade said, according to Miami Herald's Barry Jackson. "I have told everybody around me that I am taking it after this season and go from there. It’s the first year I’ve ever went into the summer with that mindset. I always went into it as a free agent or opting out of a deal to get another deal. This is the first summer I can say I’m just going into the summer and see how I feel and see the position this organization is in and go from there. I’m not really concerned with it, honestly. I’m cool with whatever I decide to do. It will be my decision."
Wade was traded to the Heat on Feb. 8, just hours before the traded deadline, and made his return in a win over the Milwaukee Bucks. However, at 36 years old, Wade has shown obvious signs of aging. Now in year 15, it comes down to Wade's desire to continue.
“Definitely,” he said. “You definitely have to check that. A lot of things go into it. Do you want to put that same grind in again? As you get older, it’s a different kind of grind to get ready for games, to get your body ready. (And) can you mentally go through another year and give it your all and not be checked out in the middle of that season?
"(Udonis Haslem) always talked about, as you get older, you take it year by year. But this is the first summer that I will go into the summer and say I ain’t got much hair left, but I’m going to let my hair down and look at everything as a whole, my family and basketball. Being back here helps that situation for me, makes the decision even easier since now that I’m back already. And sit down with Pat (Riley) and Micky (Arison) and everybody and see what’s best for me and go from there."
Wade signed a $2.4-million contract with the Cavaliers in the offseason to join forces with LeBron James. In the five games since being traded to Miami, Wade is averaging 8.6 points and five rebounds. The Heat are 2-3 since his return.