Thanks for Playing

Next summer Pat Riley faces one of the more difficult decisions of his tenure as team president. It will be almost impossible for him to keep the Big 3. If he wants to keep the Heat winning, he’s got to make an almost-impossible decision.

He’s got to let one of them go…

…and it’s got to be Dwyane Wade.

All of the focus is on whether LeBron James will choose to go elsewhere or if the Heat will decide to jettison Chris Bosh. What they need to do is get rid of the guy who’s been there the longest. They need to tell the face of the franchise to go somewhere else.

Why?

He’s the oldest: this is a plain fact. Ceteris paribus, he’s got two fewer years to make an impact on the league than the other two guys. That’s the thing about being in the same place for a long time: to achieve that feat, you have to get old. Dwyane has done that.

He’s the most injury-prone: Wade’s been knocked around and nicked up in a way that James and Bosh have not. That’s the way he plays. He should be commended, as he plays with a lot of heart and courage. He should not, though, be extended.

He’s the smallest: this has a lot to do with the entry above, but there’s more to it than that. The old saying is that you can’t coach height. I imagine it’s hard to acquire as well. James is 6’8”. Bosh is 6’11”. Wade is 6’4”. Enough said.

His game is similar to LeBron’s: both are at their best in an open court game and both need the ball in their hands to drive the lane and reach optimal efficiency and effectiveness. Neither is the best jump shooter in the world, and James is better in every area. Add in the stuff from above.

He’ll demand too much money: this is pretty much the coup de grace. He’s going to want max money, for financial and ego reasons. However, as a franchise; you don’t pay for the decline. Depending on whom you ask, the Heat has already done that for two years.

Yes, Dwyane Wade is one of five players (Kobe, Duncan, Pierce, Dirk) who can really be identified as being synonymous with the team they play on. Yes, the Heat has enjoyed much success throughout Wade’s tenure with the team. Wade is obviously a primary element of that success.

Sad as it is to say, one of those two things has got to end for the other to keep going. Riley is going to have to make that decision. We’ll see what he does, but the hardest decision would also be the best.

*This entire thing is moot if the ETOs aren’t used, but you have to assume they will be: if for no other reason than to help the team manage the salary cap the way it did when the three players signed in 2010.