|
Dwyane Wade said a decision on whether he will play a 16th season and where he would play is still pending. "In due time," Wade said when asked if he has an update on whether he will continue playing in the NBA or overseas or retire. "Time will tell." Speaking on a conference call with reporters to discuss his role as global ambassador of the upcoming Jr. NBA World Championship, Wade said family will factor heavily in his decision. Miami Heat president Pat Riley said last week that the organization will wait patiently for Wade's decision. According to the Associated Press, Miami's most realistic options are to offer Wade the $5.3 million exception or the $2.4 million veteran minimum. And according to Chinese media reports, Wade has been offered a three-year, $25 million contract by the Zhejiang Golden Bulls. The deal, which is before taxes, would make Wade, 36, the highest-paid player in China. "My son is a junior in high school right now," Wade said of his 16-year-old son Zaire. "Every decision at this point, especially in a professional athlete's career, at 36 years old, a lot of it surrounds around their families and what is best for their family. So I am really invested into making sure that my sons can have every tool that they need to be able to succeed at this game of basketball and game of life." Wade -- who will be joining 32 of the top 13-year-old and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world at the Jr. NBA World Championship held at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando on Aug. 7-12 -- also has been keeping an eye on other moves around the NBA, including his good friend and former teammate LeBron James joining the Los Angeles Lakers. Wade said never to underestimate what James can do as he will try to lead a young, growing core of Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart along with new pieces like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Michael Beasley in a stacked Western Conference after making the past eight NBA Finals out of the East. "Well, first do not count him out, that would be the wrong thing to do," Wade said. "I think in his mind, he prepares to go to the Finals every year. That is the God-given ability and talent that he has been gifted and given. ... It definitely has added another amazing chapter to his storybook career, and we are all going to watch to see how it unfolds, but I would never count that guy out." As for his own career, Wade is thankful that he landed back in Miami last season after starting it out in Cleveland. Wade, who spent his first 13 seasons in Miami before going to Chicago in 2016, averaged 12 points in 21 games with the Heat last season. "Timing is everything," Wade said of returning to Miami via a trade from Cleveland. "The timing of me coming back to Miami from a personal and community standpoint was important. I was going through something personal in my life at the time, and I needed it. I needed to be around my family and in an environment that I was familiar with, and when I went back to the city, the community needed me to be back and needed my voice and face and my support. "So it definitely was the perfect time for me being back. Obviously, I didn't like the fact that we lost 4-1 in the playoffs but for me to get back into my comfort zone and being in the right situation and right opportunity that I can still play this game, maybe not above the rim, but still can play at a level that can help a team be successful, all those things for me were good."
|
