Wade on LeBron: `He didn’t quit.’'

Dwyane Wade already has LeBron’s back.

“He’s not a quitter,’' Wade said. “He didn’t quit.’'

That’s what Wade told the AP Thursday, referring to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s post-decision rant about LeBron James, saying he quit in the Celtics playoffs series. Wade will have none of hat.

“LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, guys like that understand what Boston’s defense was about,” Wade said. “Their defense was built on not letting one player beat them. You either settle for the outside shot or you pass to your teammates. LeBron had one bad game in the playoffs. Other than that, he did what he could do with the defense all watching him.”

Yes, Wade just referred to himself in the third person, but we’re going to let that go for now. And we’re not going to get into the debate about if LeBron quit of not. Okay, yes we are -- he didn’t. And while he may have had hopes of the SuperFriends getting together in Miami at that point he was not going to tank a series to make it happen. Cleveland lost because Boston had matchup advantages and executed better.

Wade there is doing what a leader should do -- get your teammates back. And Wade could be the real leader on this team: His city and he has the ring. What’s more, he is more of a killer than the other two. He has that fire. He wants another chip like competitor who has tasted success. And we’ve seen before he can drag a team with him.