What You Missed from Dwyane Wade’s Introductory Press Conference

Here’s what you missed from Dwyane Wade’s press conference on Friday afternoon.

I’m still getting used to seeing Dwyane Wade in a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey.

It turns out Wade is getting used to being in Cleveland gear as well. He told reporters that he “definitely didn’t expect to be here. But I’m happy to be here.”

Wade made his media tour in Cleveland on Friday afternoon discussing everything from his friendship with LeBron, potentially playing off the bench, and the seemingly eroding relationship between him and Pat Riley. It started off with a one-on-one with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and finished with an introductory press conference after practice.

Wade described the move to Cleveland as “an easy one” because of his relationship with James. James’s recruitment played a big part in signing in Cleveland. LeBron reached out to Wade shortly after the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota. He continued to discuss the possibility of joining forces throughout the summer and especially after Wade’s contract was bought out.

Saying LeBron is happy with Wade coming to Cleveland would be an understatement. He couldn’t even let Wade finish his interview on Friday afternoon without interrupting.

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Wade admitted that he never thought that he would get another chance to play alongside his best friend. Anyone who thought that James returning home to Cleveland in 2014 would hurt their friendship doesn’t fully understand their relationship. When asked about it, Wade told reporters,

"“He’s [LeBron’s] a friend of mine. When a friend or anybody makes a decision that’s for them, we can’t hate on it. You have to support them. That’s true friendship. And I supported him in coming back [to Cleveland]. I never thought that we would play together anyway.  So to get four years together was incredible. I was enjoyed playing against him to.”"

Wade knows that he isn’t the player that he once was, but he isn’t exactly “washed” either. He knows that he plays well with LeBron. “It’s like peanut butter and jelly man. They just go together.”

They were the basketball version of peanut butter and jelly in Miami. Wade knows how to play with LeBron better than anyone else in the league. Whether they can recapture what they had in Miami remains to be seen.

What Wade is now at the least is a playmaker. He knows how to beat teams in the pick-and-roll both with his passing and ability to drive to the basket. Wade is one of the smartest basketball minds in the league, which is something that doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet.

Another thing that stood out was his strained relationship with the Miami Heat front office including Pat Riley. He reiterated over and over throughout the day that money wasn’t a motivating factor in leaving Miami for Chicago or leaving Chicago for Cleveland. Wade told Nichols:

"“I’m not just about the money.” He went onto say, “it’s reported out there that ‘he [Wade] left Miami for $7 or $8 more million, and then he ended up giving back the same amount of money.’ I keep telling people it wasn’t about the money as the reason I left. I’ve never gone into all the details of why . . . There’s a reason I’m not there [Miami] no more. And I’ve moved on.”"

This quote combined with several of the other quotes on Friday seem to suggest that he felt disrespected by the Heat’s front office. He reiterated over and over that LeBron isn’t the reason he’s lost out on millions of dollars in his career and that happiness is the main motivator for his basketball decisions at this point in his career. Wade also mentioned that he wants to retire as a member of a Heat – even if he isn’t sure how he’s going to do that – and that his heart is in Miami.

It’ll be a fun year for Cavs’ fans. We’ll see if LeBron and Wade can recapture some of that magic that made those teams in Miami so great.

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