Dwyane Wade’s departure from Miami shed light on what appeared to be an under-the-surface rift with Heat owner Pat Riley after failed contract negotiations. Wade shared that his buddies LeBron James, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony were surprised that he wasn’t offered the lucrative “Kobe deal” to finish his career in Miami.
Pat Riley shared that he was crafting a “very long email” to Wade about the situation this summer, but apparently it hasn’t been sent. Wade was in Miami for his first annual six-mile CommUNITY Bike Ride event on Saturday and confirmed that he’s yet to receive such an email from Riley:
Here is @DwyaneWade talking about that Pat Riley email that he says never arrived #Heat pic.twitter.com/Zs97FCNxN1
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) September 17, 2016
Riley has openly wished Wade good luck in Chicago and says that he’s moved on. There’s plenty to focus on now as the Heat prepare to transition into another era. This alleged email could very well still be drafted, or maybe Riley gave up on it. On the other hand, I’m not so sure Wade is hanging on, checking his phone every for that email.
It was explained by Riley before that he wanted to see Dwyane Wade get paid, just not at the expense of the team sacrificing other moves in order to win. The contents of Riley’s email, should it ever be sent, will probably be more along the lines of mutual closure than anything else.
