Dwyane Wade might have been a decent fit with the Celtics, but there’s satisfaction in watching his awkward situation from afar
The longtime Heat star lost a staring contest with Pat Riley and somehow ended up in a misfit backcourt with Rajon Rondo.
COMMENTARY
Not to go all Real Sportswriters of Boston on you here, but vindictiveness has become a form of shameless entertainment in American culture. There are few things more satisfying than watching rivals feud — especially when they’ve been united against you for so long.
So it is that Dwyane Wade, the longtime Miami Heat superstar guard, enemy to Rajon Rondo’s elbow …
… brand-new teammate to Rajon Rondo and his elbow, three-time NBA champion, and successor to Isiah Thomas as the NBA’s obnoxious Little Lord Fauntleroy, found himself in a high stakes staring contest with Pat Riley, the longtime Heat superstar executive, former Lakers/Knicks/Heat coach, nine-time NBA champion, and impossibly smug Gordon Gekko inspiration.
Wade blinked, and when he opened his eyes, somehow, the face of the Heat franchise for 13 years and one of the top 30 players of all time suddenly was a 34-year-old newcomer to the mediocre Chicago Bulls. There hasn’t been a more lopsided defeat in a staredown since Robert Goulet was humiliated by a ram.
And Riley? He’s portraying himself as “SADDDDDDD!!!! SO saddddddd,” but the strong suspicion here is that Riley is utterly unsentimental about avoiding a Kobe Bryant-like farewell for Wade — and is probably even thrilled to open up some more cap space for next season. SADDDDDD, my BUTTTTTTT.
He played Wade, got him on below-market deals on three contracts, used him to help recruit LeBron James. Then discarded him when Wade wanted reciprocation for his relative generosity through the years. Wade (and LeBron) fancy themselves as savvy dealmakers, but at least one of them has learned a hard lesson: Riley remains the Godfather, and there’s no doubt he’s savoring another victory right now.
Wade was never the highest-paid player on the Heat roster. That must be frustrating for one of the transcendent stars of his era and charter member of the exclusive, hyper-competitive Banana Boat Brigade. But it was his own doing, and someday he might even realize that he has to own it.
The way the Wade situation played out was especially ruthless of Riley, but it’s also emblematic of why he’s so successful. You don’t win all of those rings and land publishing deals to write cliché-addled how-to-succeed-in-everything-(except-leading-the-Knicks-to-a-title) books by putting nostalgia and generosity ahead of the salary cap.
That Wade is in Chicago now — or will be, once he conducts a few more vapid, shell-shocked interviews with the likes of Kelly Ripa — is a fascinating basketball story unto itself, even if it’s very difficult to believe it’s the outcome he wanted. And he’s only going to regret it more once the games begin.
Wade can still play, a little: He averaged a well-rounded 19.0 points, 4.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game last year, and he’s got some of that Paul Pierce old-man game (he’s the best and-1 finisher I’ve ever seen). But his knees are creaky, and he’ll be 35 in January. The end may come before his two-year contract is complete.
But the backcourt pairing with Rondo is going to be a stylistic disaster of irresistible proportions — and that’s without taking their personalities and egos into consideration. Rondo actually shot well from the 3-point range last year (36.5 percent), but I don’t think I’m alone in the skepticism that he’ll sustain that.
And Wade — ready for this? — shot 15.9 percent from 3. Steph Curry could do that in game action while wearing a blindfold and carrying his daughter under one arm. When Rajon Rondo’s 3-point percentage more than doubles that of your shooting guard … well, that’s probably not going to bode well for your offensive efficiency.
That doesn’t even take into consideration how much this will affect Jimmy Butler, who looked like he was the team’s centerpiece two weeks ago when Derrick Rose was traded and now has to contend with these two ball-dominating egomaniacs. Danny Ainge should be calling about Butler daily, decreasing his offer every few days.
Over here in New England, we can’t help but enjoy the hell out of how it played out, even if Riley probably did get what he wants. Wade’s and Riley’s names are written on the Celtics Fans Enemies’ List in permanent ink. It’s fun to see them bicker. It’s only too bad it didn’t last longer.
I did find myself wishing that Ainge, that old agitator, would tweak Riley by showing interest in Wade; but maybe the Celtics’ president of basketball operations had an inkling that the Heat were fine with letting Wade walk.
I am kind of surprised he didn’t have legitimate interest, actually. Wade would have made some sense here, though it would have had a significant effect on their cap space for next year. The Celtics are better today than they were when the final seconds ticked off the clock in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series with the Hawks, in large part because Al Horford has changed allegiances since.
But losing Evan Turner leaves a void that hasn’t drawn much attention. He’s hardly irreplaceable — Turner should be Exhibit A to agents around the league that Brad Stevens will make your flawed players filthy rich — but it’s uncertain right now who will get his important minutes. Maybe the Celtics believe Terry Rozier, who has looked outstanding in the Summer League, is ready to seize that opportunity. But Wade would have been a decent fit as Turner’s de facto replacement.
I wouldn’t have minded seeing him end up here on a two-year deal — sometimes longtime rivals do become allies. But it’s probably true that watching the acrimony between him and Riley from afar was better entertainment than anything Wade would have provided on the parquet.
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