The Miami Heat and star guard Dwyane Wade are not yet in good terms when it comes to the three-time champion's contract but team president Pat Riley wants him to stay and end his career with the franchise.
Riley for the first time spoke about Wade's situation after completing their draft selections Thursday.
"We want Dwyane back. There's no doubt about that. He's been here 12 years. We've had cordial discussions with him. The one thing I learned about free agency is that when a player has an opportunity to be a free agent, I think you give him the space and time to think about that," Riley stated.
Wade has until Monday to decide if he opts out of the final year of his pact with Miami or earn $16.1 million next season if no new deal will be reached.
In a broadcast during the NBA Finals, the 33-year-old said he will be dealing with his future after July 1 which likely means he will opt out if his deal with the Heat as ESPN reported.
The 11-time All-Star is having a hard time getting a long-term/max deal from the Heat because the team is looking to make him stay for a lower salary for them to have enough cap space for this summer's free agency and the next one.
This means Miami is looking for Wade to sacrifice his pay just like what he did when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team.
Wade also did that last season for the Heat to acquire Luol Deng from the Chicago Bulls.
Riley has commended Wade's previous sacrifices and said according to ESPN, "The one player [as much as anyone] that's had to sacrifice for the sake of winning has been him."
"This is now getting down to business. We respect him. We want him back. We want him here for the rest of his career. And we're going to try to do everything to make that happen," Riley added.
