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Bench Warmer
It's Wade-and-see time in Miami.
All-Star guard Dwyane Wade said that he has stopped negotiating a new deal with the Heat and will likely test free agency after this season, the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday.
"Yeah, that's no longer a conversation we're really having right now," Wade, in Chicago for a charity function, told the newspaper. "We've talked about it all summer. We know where they are -- they know where we are. We both want the best. But the focus is only on trying to get better than we were last year. And then we'll get back to the table and look at everything."
The news does not come as a complete surprise, as Wade has hinted for months that he was not leaning toward signing a three-year extension for the maximum of approximately $60 million.
After his seventh season, Wade can opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.
After two injury-plagued seasons, Wade, 27, led the league in scoring last season, appearing in 79 games and averaging 30.2 points per contest.
He has said he would like to finish his career with the Heat -- where he won a championship in 2006 -- and NBA rules allow Miami to pay him more than other teams. But a number of teams are clearing cap space for the 2010 free-agency bonanza that will likely include LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Wade.
Wade's name has consistently come up in conversations about his hometown Chicago Bulls. He recently bought a townhouse in the city.
"Me buying a place in Chicago, that's supposed to mean more than what it is," Wade said, according to the Herald. "I just sort of laugh at it, all the speculation."
Wade will be weighing a variety of factors next year. He emphasized his love of the Heat, but he also wants to see signs the team is restocking its talent cupboard, and whether team president Pat Riley stays to run the organization.
"Those are all things we'll talk about next summer," Wade told the newspaper. "It's not just basketball. It's other things involved, too. His future. My future. That's what I told them. But right now, we're going to focus on basketball and take care of that other business at the end of the season."
All-Star guard Dwyane Wade said that he has stopped negotiating a new deal with the Heat and will likely test free agency after this season, the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday.
"Yeah, that's no longer a conversation we're really having right now," Wade, in Chicago for a charity function, told the newspaper. "We've talked about it all summer. We know where they are -- they know where we are. We both want the best. But the focus is only on trying to get better than we were last year. And then we'll get back to the table and look at everything."
The news does not come as a complete surprise, as Wade has hinted for months that he was not leaning toward signing a three-year extension for the maximum of approximately $60 million.
After his seventh season, Wade can opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.
After two injury-plagued seasons, Wade, 27, led the league in scoring last season, appearing in 79 games and averaging 30.2 points per contest.
He has said he would like to finish his career with the Heat -- where he won a championship in 2006 -- and NBA rules allow Miami to pay him more than other teams. But a number of teams are clearing cap space for the 2010 free-agency bonanza that will likely include LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire and Wade.
Wade's name has consistently come up in conversations about his hometown Chicago Bulls. He recently bought a townhouse in the city.
"Me buying a place in Chicago, that's supposed to mean more than what it is," Wade said, according to the Herald. "I just sort of laugh at it, all the speculation."
Wade will be weighing a variety of factors next year. He emphasized his love of the Heat, but he also wants to see signs the team is restocking its talent cupboard, and whether team president Pat Riley stays to run the organization.
"Those are all things we'll talk about next summer," Wade told the newspaper. "It's not just basketball. It's other things involved, too. His future. My future. That's what I told them. But right now, we're going to focus on basketball and take care of that other business at the end of the season."
