Dwyane Wade was once the shooting guard of the Miami Heat, the electric superstar that kept the engine running. After he defected to the Chicago Bulls last summer, Dion Waiters worked his way into the position. He rewarded the team with one of the best seasons of his career and they paid him back in kind with a stellar new contract. There's no ill-will between the two shooting guards, though. In fact, Wade congratulated Waiters via a post on Twitter.
Wade takes to Twitter
Wade expected people to have a negative reaction to his celebration of the new Heat shooting guard -- at least that's what he implied in the hashtags he left on the post.
Nevertheless, he made his move on Wednesday night, shouting out a major congrats to Waiters (and getting a grateful response).
Big Congrats to @dionwaiters3 on the new deal with The Heat. It was only right bro!!! #waitersisland #yallthoughtiwouldhate #thatsthebro
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) July 5, 2017
The post brought the obvious torrent of emotions that Twitter is always driving, but it also brought calls for Wade to return to Miami to finish out his career. As it currently stands, he opted in to stay with Chicago for another year, only for them to seemingly betray him by trading away Jimmy Butler and sacrificing contention for the coming year. The superstar probably wouldn't be able to function well in the same lineup as Waiters, but they could certainly share time on the roster together.
It would certainly fulfill the fantasy of plenty of Heat fans.
Heat build with Waiters
On Thursday, Waiters officially signed a four-year, $52 million deal to stay with the Heat. He flirted with signing with other teams -- including the New York Knicks -- but ultimately felt that staying in Miami was best. It would be hard to blame him, considering the fact that he had a resurgent year with the team last season.
He averaged a career-high in three-point shooting accuracy, assists, and was just a decimal point away from doing the same in terms of points.
Nevertheless, the signing of Waiters doesn't feel like a complete win for the Heat. The team has struggled to capture the high-profile free agents they have sought over the years, from former team members Wade and LeBron James to free agents such as Kevin Durant, and Gordon Hayward just a few days ago.
The deal is also coupled with the loss of Chris Bosh, who officially departed from the roster this week after a year of not being around the team. It's possible that the franchise is building for the future, but it isn't as intriguing for mainstream basketball fans as it has been in the past.