The NBA landscape was shaken up on Monday when free agent Kevin Durant decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, followed their 2015 championship with a record-breaking 73-9 regular season record before losing in an unprecedented fashion to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 Finals. The addition of Durant once again makes the Warriors the favorites to beat Cleveland in 2017.
Durant's move is another piece in the ever-progressing narrative of NBA players leaving their teams to join other stars and create so-called super teams, the most infamous instance being in 2010 when LeBron James left his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to join his good friends and fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. They went on to win 2 titles in 4 years before LeBron decided to return to Cleveland and bring them the title he had promised years ago. Despite LeBron's departure, he and Wade remain close to this day. Just last week, they were seen on Snapchat partying on a yacht with Clippers guard Chris Paul and all of their wives. This, among other factors, has many wondering about a possible reunion of Wade and James in Cleveland.
Wade has reportedly been in contention with Miami Heat management since last year, with the latest point of disagreement coming on Monday afternoon. The Heat offered Wade a 2-year $40 million deal of which he has yet to respond, with many wondering if his relationship with the organization whom he has played for his entire career and won 3 championships with has reached its last straw. His wife, Gabrielle Union, has recently been favoriting tweets questioning the loyalty between players and owners. Wade himself also tweeted on Monday about the importance of relationships and on Tuesday the official Cavs social media accounts followed he and his wife.
Those previously assuming that Wade would choose to go to the highest bidder are spinning their heads now that he has canceled meetings later this week with the Knicks and Bucks, Milwaukee being the team that could offer him the largest contract. This comes after reports that Wade had been on a plane with and met with LeBron James and Cavs' majority owner Dan Gilbert on Tuesday morning.
Cleveland would have to do some serious juggling of contracts in order to make room for Wade. Most notably, Kevin Love, with his $113 million contract, would most likely need to go. Iman Shumpert would also probably be on his way out with his remaining $30 million.
Wade would be taking a pay cut coming to Cleveland, but at almost 35 years old and already past his prime, it would be his last push for another title. It would also give him another chance at playing with his best friend in the league, something that they have both hinted that they would like to experience once again.
Wade isn't the perfect fit for the Cavaliers, but he and James' chemistry has proven to be something special. Wade would also be the beneficiary of a lot of rest in the regular season as Cleveland cruises to the top of the Eastern Conference once again. Wade has struggled mightily from behind the arc recently, but his exceptional off-the-ball slashes would put him on the receiving end of beautiful passing from James and point guard Kyrie Irving.
Ultimately, the decision for Wade is whether he will pursue winning with his buddy LeBron at a lower price tag or make peace with the organization he has spent his entire career with and go down as the most loved and important figure in the franchise's history.
A Warriors-Cavs Finals rematch is pretty much a foregone conclusion now in this top-heavy league. The only question now is whether Dwyane Wade will be a part of this star-spangled series.
