Dwyane Wade has left the Heat, and an era is over.
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Late Wednesday, following a day in which social media feeds were peppered with minute-by-minute updates of talks between the 13-year veteran and three-time champion and his suitors, Wade announced he was leaving his beloved Miami to make a triumphal return home and sign with the Bulls. Yahoo's The Vertical was the first to report Wade had informed the Bulls he'd sign with them.
What lies ahead now for Wade is the chance to close out his illustrious career as the hometown hero in his native Chicagoland. Maybe, just maybe, he can restore the Bulls to relevancy in an Eastern Conference that has been a foregone conclusion for more than a half decade — his good friend LeBron James has led teams to the Finals in each of the past six seasons.
What Wade leaves behind in Miami is an ironclad legacy and a mess of a roster Pat Riley has to clean up. He gave a final middle finger to an organization that lowballed him and allowed him to walk, after he took a pay cut in his prime so the Heat could sign James and Chris Bosh six years ago. That group went on to win two titles.
Even with Bron and Bosh around, Wade was the Heat.
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The team's staunchest supporters referred to Dade County as "Wade County" in honor of the man who put the franchise on the basketball map when he joined forces with a post-Lakers Shaquille O'Neal to help lift Miami to its first Finals crown in 2006. What he did in the 305 will never be taken away and won't ever be forgotten. He's as synonymous with success on South Beach as Dan Marino, Luther Campbell, Miami football ("The U" era, anyway) and Rick Ross.
But the Heat still have Riley, an icon whose image rivals that of the team's brightest stars and who remains committed to his old-school principles. If Riley talked tough instead of begging and pleading while facing the prospect of losing James two years ago, there was no way he was folding with Wade. For better or worse, the 71-year old Hall of Famer isn't built like that, and, by extension, neither is the business he runs.
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That's why Wade's demands weren't met. That's why the 34-year-old's efforts weren't ultimately appreciated enough by the team's front office to offer him the two-year, $50 million contract he sought.
Now, the Heat — who also refused to match offers to the likes of Luol Deng and Joe Johnson — must reinvent themselves and craft a new identity. "Miami Heat basketball," as Wade and James often referred to the positionless brand of ball they played under coach Erik Spoelstra, was synonymous with the superstars who made it possible, not the sets themselves. The Heat's championships aren't immediately associated with a style like the Bad Boys Pistons' physicality and grit, or a system like Phil Jackson's Bulls or Lakers.
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Without the lure of Wade, who attracted Shaq, LeBron and Bosh to South Beach, the Heat will have to rely on potential more than ever. The current roster is built on shaky foundations — young center Hassan Whiteside's head and Bosh's health.
Whiteside is the Heat's most promising player after averaging 14.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and an NBA-best 3.7 blocks per game in 2015-16. He agreed to a four-year, $98 million contract this offseason, but concerns about his maturity leave many people wondering if he's worth the money. Bosh played in just 44 games in 2014-15 because of blood clots, and the same ailment limited him to 53 games last season. Many fear he may never play again. He has three years remaining on a five-year, $118 million deal he signed to stay in Miami.
That leaves point guard Goran Dragic (14.1 points, 5.8 assists, 3.8 rebounds per game last season) and second-year forward Justise Winslow (6.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.5 apg), as building blocks.
The Heat were a team built to win now, and now, without Wade, they don't know who they are or where they're going.