Back in July, it became a thing — Pat Riley didn’t personally call Dwyane Wade and try to keep him in Miami, so instead Wade bolted to Chicago. Riley admitted regrets over how all that was handled, and Wade said he didn’t take it personally, it was just business.
However, a little removed from the summer, Wade admitted not getting a call from Riley did matter.
He said so on The Vertical Podcast with Adrian Wojnarowski (as transcribed by The Miami Herald).“I did feel at the end of the day it’s Micky Arison’s team but it’s Pat’s show,” Wade told Wojnarowski. “I love Pat and I know he loves me. The fact that we didn’t talk, that hurt. That was my deciding factor when it came down to the end of the day and he didn’t show he wanted me there. I know the Arison family loved me and wanted me there. I know Spo [coach Erik Spoelstra] wanted me there.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t hear from the guy I needed to. I expressed this to him later. That right there hurt me. It showed me... it was time to remove myself from the situation.... It’s a business. But I’m human as well. I was waiting for him to step up and meet me, call me, do something and it just never happened. That’s not the Pat I know. You can find me quicker than anybody. You want to be wanted. Everyone wants to be wanted. I didn’t feel like I was wanted from the person I wanted to be wanted from…. I was waiting for him to step up and meet me somewhere. Call me. Do something. It just never happened. That’s not Pat. That’s not the Pat I know.”
Pat Riley and the Heat try to create a family atmosphere within the organization, which is one of the best run in the league. He either fell short in this instance, or he didn’t really mind if Wade left and tried to play in neutral. Either way, it came off looking bad for him and the organization.
Down the line, a handful of years from now when Wade’s number is retired in Miami and he is remembered as the most important player in Heat franchise history, all of this will be forgiven. But for now, the wounds are all still a little fresh.