Five quick-hitting Miami Heat items as the organization anxiously awaits the opt-out deadlines of its Big Three:1. Dwyane Wade to the bench?Wade accepted a secondary role in 2010 to accommodate LeBron James, sacrificing plenty of shots, some of the spotlight and a significant chunk of change.That was appropriate.Now many fans want him to explore a contract extension that would create space for additional talent.That is understandable.There are some, however, who are going a large leap further, suggesting that even if the Big Three all return, Wade should step aside from the starting lineup entirely, sliding to a sixth-man spot.
That is overkill."That's not been discussed," Pat Riley said Thursday, at his lengthy end-of-season press conference. "We'd probably have to get in a room with boxing gloves to have that discussion. Which I would not want to do. No, that has not been discussed."
The supporters of such a discussion are armed with analytics, numbers that show that James was more electric—and the Heat were more effective—when he played without Wade than with him.
Even so, I'm here to argue otherwise.Even in the most optimistic scenario, the Heat won't be adding more than one offensive option superior to Wade this offseason. James' frustration this season wasn't with Wade's ineffectiveness—the 11th-year guard shot a career-best 54.5 percent—but rather, his unavailability.
So long as Wade is with the Heat (and Riley called him "a Miami Heat for life"), he'll be finishing games. So what is the point of not starting him? To manage his minutes and preserve his body? Erik Spoelstra can do that even if Wade is playing the first six. To bolster the bench? Riley needs to upgrade the reserve group regardless, but Spoelstra has routinely staggered the times that he removes James and Wade, in order to give his primary bench foursome an All-Star anchor.
Wade, as Riley stated, needs to keeps evolving in order to add effective years to his career. "You have to reinvent yourself," Riley said. "What reinventing is, is the concept: What does he have to do mentally, physically, spiritually to get to another level at that age of 32?"That means improving his range and accuracy—even if he'll never be an elite three-point shooter—while digging in consistently more on defense."He's too smart, he's too good, he's too talented to not be able to play a major role for years to come," Riley said.
And, while recognizing Wade's NBA Finals struggles, Riley added, "I can guarantee you this, he isn't a what have you done for me lately guy? Or a Johnny do nothing. He's not that. That's an insult. That's an insult for a guy who, since 2003, has made magic for us."You know what else would be an insult? Pushing him to come off the bench because of one poor series. There's little precedent for it among the all-time two guards, especially at Wade's age (32). Ray Allen chose to do it, at age 36, but that was only because that was a prerequisite for joining a championship team that already had Wade. Reggie Miller, more diminished than Wade near the end, started all 146 games he played in his final two seasons, at age 38 and 39. Clyde Drexler and George Gervin were full-time starters until they retired at ages 35 and 34, respectively. Mitch Richmond was still a starter at age 35, with little left when he jumped aboard a fourth team (the Los Angeles Lakers) to get a ring before he retired. Even Allen Iverson, clearly broken down at 34, finished his career as a Philadelphia 76ers starter, albeit after balking at serving as a Memphis Grizzlies reserve, and with the 76ers not in contention for anything.
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