After sitting out the Bulls' lopsided loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, Dwyane Wade sat down with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical for the latest episode of his podcast. They talked about everything, ranging from the creation of the original "Big Three" in Miami to Wade's thoughts on being back home in a violence-stricken Chicago.
Dwyane also offered up his thoughts on what exactly will go into his offseason decision regarding his player option. Will the comfort of being back home in Chicago be enough to keep him with the Bulls? Or will he look for a more likely championship contender, perhaps with one of his guys from the "Banana Boat Crew"? Speaking of which, Wade gives his funny take on the origin of that nickname.
Here are some of the best quotes from Wade's interview with Woj:
Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and LeBron James ride an inflatable banana in the Bahamas.[/caption]
The Unexpected
Woj asked Wade if his first season with the Bulls has been a greater struggle than he anticipated.Sounds like Wade is aware that the Bulls (26-29) are flirting with the clock ticking out on their season. But, as he said in his introductory press conference, this is a young and inexperienced team. Championship contention was never a reality this season."I didn't really have a lot of expectations because I didn't know the guys on the team. I played against a few of them, I knew they were young. So I needed to get into training camp, I needed to get around them before I had expectations...Once I got into it I realized we have myself, Rondo who's won a championship, and then we have Jimmy who's made himself an All Star in this league. But outside of that, it's a lot of guys that don't have any experience. This isn't even playoff experience, this is just basketball experience... I knew it was going to take a while. And you just hope to hit a stride at some point. That's your goal. When you're with a new team...you hope that you guys figure out your game, you figure out what it takes to win. And ya'll can finally hit that stride at some point throughout the year. There's still time. You hope you can still do it, but time does tick away on you too. I've been on teams where the clock ticked out on us." - Dwyane Wade
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Love For Miami
Dwyane cleared up any misconceptions about his feelings towards the Miami Heat after his departure. He still roots for them. He even still considers it to be his organization."I think people think that I want the Heat to do bad...I follow the Heat. I watch all their games. I'm checking up on them, because at the end of the day it's always going to be a part of me. It's always going to be my organization in some form, some way, because of what I was able to accomplish there...I want nothing but success for them. It's just that at this time for me, the best thing for me to do was remove myself. And vice versa for them, they had to make a decision too as an organization. I understand the business side of things. It's ugly and it gets in the way...but it's nothing but love for me." - Dwyane Wade
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The Big 3
Woj asked Wade what it was like having that microscope on himself and his teammates after they formed the Big 3 with the arrivals of LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010. Had he ever felt that heavily scrutinized before?Wade also insisted that the forming of the Big 3 was not preordained. In fact, he told Heat owner Micky Arison that they had practically no chance to land LeBron."No. No. Not even close. Somebody asked me about the first time we went to Cleveland. I said, 'It was a movie.' There will never be nothing like that in basketball ever again. Not that. That was insane. For the first time in my life I seen hatred from a look. I really felt that people hated me, all of us. Just the smell in the arena, the atmosphere. It just breathed hate." - Dwyane Wade
As for the other big market teams that courted Wade and his pals in that crazy free agency summer of 2010? Dwyane said the New York Knicks weren't ready for such a big move."Everyone thought we [the Big 3] had this master plan to play together....[The Heat] stayed pat, they didn't make any moves [at the 2010 deadline.] Micky asked me, 'What do you think the chances are of getting LeBron?' I said, '0.001%.' I didn't think it was even possible, and that was one of my best friends. So it definitely wasn't the way everybody said." - Dwyane Wade
"I think all of us met with them. They just wasn't prepared. They wasn't ready to take on what we felt we wanted to do. The city was ready. The market was there. It's New York. But from the organization standpoint, we didn't feel like they could handle it...This is the prime of our career. This is the meat of it. This decision is going to make or break your career, and we really had to make a decision that made sense. And Miami, the structure was there for us. It worked out. But when you talk about markets and cities, Chicago and New York is the biggest we were reaching out to. But it was never something that I was serious about when it came down to it." - Dwyane Wade
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Disrespected
Wade might insist that he has nothing but love for the fans in Miami and the Heat organization, but he's obviously upset about how his departure unfolded. It started with some other players getting max deals ahead of him, and it ended with Heat president Pat Riley giving Dwyane a cold shoulder.In the end, it was Riley who made Dwyane feel disrespected and unwanted."I definitely don't accept how it all played out...The year where 'Bron left and they signed Chris [Bosh] to that max deal, I'm happy for Chris. He's one of my best friends. I'm like, 'Yeah. Okay. My turn.' That hurt me. I've spoken this to Pat, that really hurt me. That was the first moment where I felt like I was being taken for granted. So I signed a shorter deal. Then the next year Goran [Dragic] comes in and they max Goran out. Same thing [for me], one year deal...All these players, they deserve the money they got. My grief is never with any of them. I love all those guys. But I'm sitting over here waving my hands saying, 'Hey, guys.' I understand everyone's talk is, 'The future, the future.' My future is running out, and I'm still a good player in this league. I'm not asking for something that I don't deserve...Did my feelings get hurt some? Yeah. But you have to make the decision that's best for you." - Dwyane Wade
"It's Micky Arison's team but this is Pat's show...I love Pat and I know he loves me. The fact that we didn't talk, that hurt. That was my deciding factor. When it came down to it and he didn't show that he wanted me there...I know [the Arisons] wanted me there. I know [coach Erik] Spo wanted me there. I know Udonis [Haslem] and those guys [wanted me there.] But at the end of the day, I didn't here from the guy I needed to. And I expressed this to him later. That right there hurt me. And it showed me it was time to remove myself from the situation." - Dwyane Wade
Now that he's in Chicago, Wade is readying himself to make another big career decision this summer when he can use his player option to become a free agent again. While talking with Woj, the Chicago native talked about what exactly will go into that decision. His answer might surprise some Bulls fans.
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Home For Good?
Woj asked Wade how he'll balance his desire to contend for titles and making up for taking paycuts in Miami when signing his final deals in the NBA.The comment about evaluating where the Bulls are as an organization isn't entirely new. He said something similar a few weeks ago. The surprising part came when Woj asked the father of three if being back home in Chicago is enough of a reason to keep playing with the Bulls."I didn't sign a long deal with Chicago because they wanted the flexibility just like I did. I'll have to sit down and decide if I'm going to opt in or I'm not. I'll have to weigh the pros and cons of doing both and live with the decision that I make. But I'll do what I do every year: sit down with my wife, I'll sit down with my team at CAA, my agency, and make the best decision for where my career's going..and where the organization is." - Dwyane Wade
Is Wade suggesting with these comments that family will weigh the heaviest when it comes time to make his decision? It sounds like coming home to Chicago has been great for his family. He can opt in for a second year with the Bulls and make another $23.8 million next season. That takes care of family and money. The only thing he'll likely be missing is the winning."It could be enough. Not even looking at it from my standpoint, but more so my kids. I think my kids are really enjoying being back home, being back with my family...The tough thing when you have a family, when you have kids is moving them around a lot. This was a tough move for my kids. Now I see them really developing into themselves in Chicago. So yeah, I have to think about that too. It is enough. The Chicago part is enough for me. But it's not the only part. There's a money part and there's a winning part. You gotta sit down with all three of those things: family, money, winning. Stack 'em up and see what's the most important when you make your decision." - Dwyane Wade
Helping Hand
But maybe the winning just isn't that important anymore to the three-time NBA champion. Not when he can stay in his hometown and help the youth of a city plagued by violence. Here's Wade on what it's been like re-immersing himself into the role of hometown hero for Chicago's kids:Wade and his charity, the Wade's World Foundation, are doing their part to help the youth of Chicago. Between that and being back home around family, maybe he'll stick with the Bulls regardless of their win-loss record this season. On the other hand, there's always the possibility that Wade will team up with LeBron again. Or one of his other "Banana Boat Crew" buddies."It's definitely been great. I think the way that the kids in Chicago look at my different now...Now that I'm back home and playing for their favorite team. It's really a glimmer of hope. They're looking for you to give them something. Give them the blueprint. Give them a word. So it's been powerful. Me, my family and our foundation, what we're going to try to continue to do. I think there are some good things in the city. It's all about giving our youth that feeling that they can succeed...There's so much negativity about Chicago that our kids get to see and hear. Once you hear something over and over again, that's what you believe. So our job is to share a positive in their life." - Dwyane Wade
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Banana Boat Past & Future
Perhaps as some comic relief for a very honest and introspective interview, Woj asks Wade to give his explanation for the "Banana Boat" phenomenon. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and LeBron James ride an inflatable banana in the Bahamas.[/caption]
Does Wade see himself playing with any of his Banana Boat buddies before he retires?"I did not want to get on the banana boat. I told 'em. I was like, "Yo, I do not want to get on that banana boat!' We were in the middle of nowhere, I don't even know how the photo was taken. There was nobody out there. Just us, in the middle of the water. Crazy...I just feared the possibility of being on that banana boat. I'm like, 'That doesn't look stable. We're gonna fall. And we're gonna be in the middle of the ocean.' I didn't want to get on it. But it was fun. Now it became the thing. It's the name of the crew, the Banana Boat Crew. It's funny." - Dwyane Wade
Possible? Yes. But apparently not at the forefront of anybody's mind right now. Neither is retirement for Wade, who's said he has an age in mind for his retirement from the game. He still won't reveal what that age is, but he talked to Woj about the kind of legacy he wants to leave behind when he hangs up his sneakers for good."Well, I think one thing is that LeBron came out and said it. If LeBron says something it becomes something that everyone will keep an eye on. It's something you would like, it's your best friends. Who wouldn't want to play with their best friends? Now, what it takes to make that happen is a total different story. But, I don't think none of us have shut the door on it. Would it be too late by then? Will the game have passed us by? Who knows. It is something to think about...but not something we focus on either. It's not something we try to make happen at this point." - Dwyane Wade
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Which Legacy Will He Leave?
Woj asked Wade if his many sacrifices of money, attention and possessions on the court will have an effect on his legacy as an NBA great. Here's Dwyane's response:Wade's final thoughts here are interesting. He says he wants to be remembered as a selfless player who did things his own way. Then he says, "it's my career" and repeats that sentiment again for emphasis. ...So which is it, Dwyane? How can you be selfless while insisting that you do things your way and who cares if people don't like it? Perhaps Wade just misspoke when trying to explain how he wants to be remembered. Looking at the first 14 years of his NBA career, Wade is mostly right about being selfless. On multiple occasions, he took less money and shared the spotlight so the Heat could add expensive, big-ego talent to their rosters. It paid off, first with Shaquille O'Neal and then with James and Bosh. Three rings for the selfless Wade who always put team success first."When people ask me if there's one word you want to be remembered by, I want to be remembered [as] someone who was selfless. Cared about winning. My ego is not as big as people expect it to be...Dwyane Wade was not on anyone's radar. What I developed and what I became in Miami was from my heart, my determination, my opportunity that I got. And I took advantage of it. God gave me a talent, but my ego was never big. I was never 'The Chosen One'. I was never supposed to be. So I never had an ego. I was just happy to be on teams, happy to play with certain guys. Then I became a big name, but that didn't change the foundation of who Dwyane Wade was. For me, it was always about playing a team sport. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than team success. Nothing...I just want to be remembered as being selfless and doing it my way. I mean, it's my career. Allow me to do it the way I want and who cares what someone else don't like. It's my career. Do it my own way." - Dwyane Wade
