Udonis Haslem: Heat losing Dwyane Wade could’ve been avoided

Remember when Chris Paul and the Clippers held DeAndre Jordan captive until he signed?

Udonis Haslem does, and that story (embellished or not) was on his mind after Dwyane Wade left the Heat for the Bulls -- a stunning move for the Miami icon.

Haslem, via Michael Wallace of ESPN:

“In hindsight, I don’t know, I think I should have come in and pulled a Chris Paul and handcuffed him like they did DeAndre Jordan and made him change his mind,” Haslem said. “I don’t know if there was anything I could have done or should have done. But I felt like it could have been avoided. For whatever reason, it just wasn’t.”

The Heat could have avoid this by trading Josh McRoberts and paying Wade his desired salary. Or by prioritizing Wade over Hassan Whiteside and Kevin Durant. Or by paying Wade more in previous years so he didn’t feel like he was owed more now.

Wade could have avoided this by accepting another below-market contract, acknowledging his aging curve and prioritizing Miami’s need to add help around him.

So, could it have been avoided? Of course. But both sides compromised as far as they would, and that wasn’t enough.

I’m sure Haslem will miss playing with Wade, a teammate since their rookie year. But Wade’s departure isn’t all bad for Haslem. He got a nice windfall as a result.