4. Dwyane Wade
This is the one player where Heat Nation will go absolutely ballistic if he decides to leave Miami. Or one could look at it as the franchise choosing to allow the franchise player to walk.
Wade wants a certain amount of money to feel respected and for all of the money he has sacrificed over the years in order for the team to bring in players like Bosh and LeBron James, he deserves it.
The Heat either want Wade to opt in for the 2015-16 season or sign a new contract that would pay him around the neighborhood of $12 million a year so they can continue to sign players to rebuild the team into a championship contender.
Something has got to give, and it will—the two sides will come to an agreement somehow and some way.
Wade is the biggest legend in franchise history. Riley knows this, and as smart and stubborn as he can be, he won’t allow No. 3 to walk.
Having said that, No.3 also is not worth the $20 million a year figure that reports have suggested he wants. There will have to be a compromise, and a compromise will be made.
Wade will opt out of his current contract and after a short period of flirting with teams such as the Lakers for leverage in negotiating purposes with the Heat, he will re-sign on a new contract worth less than $20 million—but more than the $12 million a year he was initially offered. Expect a multi-year contract worth slightly less annually than the $16 million player option he would have been due for the 2015-16 season.
Both sides will be happy and Heat Nation will be able to breath a huge sigh of relief.
Prediction: Staying
Next: 2015 Offseason Prediction
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