With many other NBA stars deciding upon their playing situations for next season, Dwyane Wade has finally made his intention clear as well. The longtime superstar will return to the league for one final season, per a new report. That means fans will get one last season to savor D-Wade's talents in the league, as he'll close out his career in South Beach.
Wade to sign a one-year deal
There had been previous reports that Wade was being recruited to play in China. On Tuesday (Aug. 14), Adam Spolane of Sports Radio 610 and CBS Local Houston tweeted that Wade is signing a one-year deal with the Miami Heat for next season.
Spolane said the deal will last for just a season with Wade to retire at the end of the 2018-19 season.
SOURCE: Dwyane Wade will sign a 1-year deal with the Miami Heat and that he will retire when the 2018-19 season ends
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) August 14, 2018
Spolane went on to tweet again that he didn't have "specifics" for the Miami Heat deal with Dwyane Wade. This could surface as more reports arrive to confirm his original news. Spolane mentioned the team still has "their full taxpayer exception" and that the "vet minimum would also be an option."
Miami Heat season outlook
This past weekend reports surfaced in which Dwyane Wade said there was only one team he'd play for this season: the Miami Heat.
With Spolane's recent tweet and other media outlets starting to pick up the story, it may give a bit of an outlook towards what Miami fans can expect this coming campaign.
On the team depth chart ahead of the season, Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters were in the backcourt. Josh Richardson and James Johnson were up front with Hassan Whiteside providing duties in the middle.
It's possible Wade would come off the bench for his final season, but that's an unknown. He did that a bit in Cleveland during his brief stint there with LeBron before he returned to Miami.
Dwyane Wade - the Champion, the Flash, the Heat legend - will be returning to Miami for one last ride. pic.twitter.com/qWuVTe7Qql
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) August 15, 2018
The Miami Heat are not considered amongst top title contenders with heavyweights like Golden State, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia, and Toronto.
That's mainly because of their lack to land any major free agents this summer. However, having Wade around will provide a memorable season, and it's possible this team will contend for a playoff spot based on their roster and LeBron's departure from the East.
The team's official schedule will be released on Friday (Aug. 17) so fans will be circling dates on the calendar to decide which big games they may want to see Wade in. Surely it will be like a farewell tour as Dwayne Wade plays against different opponents he's seen during his career.
Career coming to a close
Based on the reports, that means another of the league's top stars will soon be on the way out. In the past several years, fans watched as longtime Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant officially retired.
San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan was another of the game's all-time greats to hang up his jersey. Dwyane Wade becomes the latest.
While Wade played for the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers during his career, he is synonymous with the Miami Heat. He helped drive the team to their first-ever championship back in 2006. The team had added Shaquille O'Neal to the roster to help out, but it was Wade who won the NBA Finals MVP Award for his performances. Two more titles arrived once fellow All-Stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined the team to form a tough "Big Three" years later.
D-Wade arrived in the NBA in the same star-powered draft that included James, Bosh, and new Rockets member Carmelo Anthony.
While "King James" will always be the top of that class, one can make an easy argument that the No. 4 pick was the second-best choice. His NBA career, which includes three NBA titles, 12 All-Star appearances, a scoring title, and multiple other accolades shows it.
There are no doubts that years from now, Dwyane Wade will be added to the list of other elite level basketball talents in the Hall of Fame.