Does Wade deserve the max?

[wutang112878]

Simple question, does Wade as he is right now deserve the max.
 
Forget about the Wade from 3 years ago, that guy is gone.  I'm talking about the Wade who the last 2 seasons has played 69 and 54 games. 
 
I would also suggest that you consider that he gets 'banged up' and has 'knee issues' every single year now, the actually put him on a plan this year to save him for the playoffs.  Yet last night he seemed to have no hops whatsoever, and no real explosion to get past someone.
 
My contention is that not only has Wade played his best basketball, but most importantly his play is going to drop off dramatically and I dont think he will be in the league in 4 years and probably not 3.  Hence I would not give him anything close to the max.
 
If he opts out, it will be very interesting to see how Miami plays it considering Melo might be an option for them.  Complete conspiracy theory but I think the 'lets create a big 4' is a ruse to get him to opt out, so that they can bring in Melo to replace him.

 

[Ed Hillel]

No offense, but this can't be serious, right? I wouldn't pay him 10 million a year at this point. I'd have to think he's looking at a sixth man role, if he wants to be realistic.

 

[wutang112878]

I'm about 99% sure he thinks he is still max worthy

 

[CaptainLaddie]

He can think it.  He's not close to a max player.

 

[Detts]

No

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I'm about 99% sure he thinks he is still max worthy

I'm pretty sure he knows how limited he is now. The interview he held last year or year before showed that he recognized that his knee is going to cut his career short much sooner rather than later. I'm on record calling last night being his final game.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I'm about 99% sure he thinks he is still max worthy

Perhaps, and we'll find out of he's dumb enough to opt out (unless he's willing to take a huge paycut at a chance for more rings), but I don't think there's any team dumb enough to think he is. Offensively, he still has flashes of being the player he was, but defensively, he's just terrible. He can't hold up physically right now, and that's obviously not going to get any better.

I'm pretty sure he knows how limited he is now. The interview he held last year or year before showed that he recognized that his knee is going to cut his career short much sooner rather than later. I'm on record calling last night being his final game.

We'll find out more about this league-wide insurance policy this offseason, methinks. If it covers Wade, I agree, he may well retire. If not, I don't think there's any chance he'll throw away that 42 million.

 

[Kliq]

Not only is his offensive reduced to mostly tough floaters, defensively he masqueraded as a turnstile with a jersey on every Manu drive.
 
I was listening to Israel Gutierrez and Bruce Bowen's podcast today and they were talking about how Wade looked out of shape during the finals. They said that Wade is notorious for his disdain of vegetables and seafood, and that there are A LOT of things he needs to change if he wants to resemble a high quality NBA player again. His first step other than doing whatever he can to stay healthy, is he has to get better at shooting. Plenty of guys come into the NBA as poor shooters, but most of the top players (like LeBron) develop and become quality shooters. Wade came into the league with an unreliable shot beyond 20 feet, and he still is unreliable from beyond 20 feet. His best bet is to come back to Miami, and become a sixth man, never playing more than 30 minutes per game. Is Wade up for that? I have no idea.

 

[BostonFan23]

I'm pretty sure he knows how limited he is now. The interview he held last year or year before showed that he recognized that his knee is going to cut his career short much sooner rather than later. I'm on record calling last night being his final game.

No chance last night was his last game. I bet you $100 internet dollars.

 

[mcpickl]

Good God no.
 
If he opts out of his current deal he's nuts.
 
He's never getting that money again.

 

[wutang112878]

When I started this I was thinking back to this article I had read where Wade had some doozy quotes.  I'm not sure if he has gained some perspective and accepted some basketball mortality since then but he certainly isnt talking like Duncan who blatantly said his career his coming to a close.  I really believe Wade still thinks he is the Wade of a few years ago and he just 'keeps getting banged up'
 

“D-Wade is getting that Kobe deal,” James said from the next locker.

Wade, knowing the gravity of this issue, smiled and shook his head. Then he gave a more diplomatic answer.

“When I get into that position, it’s something I’ll think about,” Wade said. “You have to sit down at the time and see what is best for you and for your team.”

That is likely the type of plan the Heat would like to work out with Wade. If Wade were amenable, the Heat could gain flexibility if Wade would be willing to do the same and opt out of the $41 million he’s owed over the next two years and take longer deal worth less per season.

“I remember when Shaq did that,” Wade said. “Not everyone is going to do that.”

“That was something we wanted to do, it wasn’t that we had to do it,” Wade said. “At the time, guys like LeBron and CB were searching for their first championship. So you’re willing to get whatever you can to put yourself in position to win that.”

“There are different times and different mindsets that you deal with. That was 2010,” Wade said. “I’m not saying that LeBron James or Chris Bosh, if they get the opportunity again, are going to leave $17 million on the table. No one can say they should do that. You have to do what is best for you.”
 

 

[Devizier]

Reggie Miller took ~50% pay cut relative to his previous contract for his last three seasons in Indiana. Wade's about three years younger than Miller was, but he's playing every bit the part of a 36-year old guard. Accordingly, I would give Wade something around a 3/30 contract at most. I don't think he takes that kind of deal, and that's a rich offer for a guy with the kind of screaming red flags that he's got.

 

[Tony C]

Good God no.
 
If he opts out of his current deal he's nuts.
 
He's never getting that money again.

 
No way he opts out. He has agents for a reason, despite those nutty quotes. If he did opt out, you can bet Riley would be the happiest guy in town.
 
I could see him getting that $10 per -- but would still be an overpay, but for a team that feels like it's one guy away could see it happening.

 

[Mugthis]

Does Wade try to improve his game at all in the off season? 

 

[Three10toLeft]

Bruce Bowen has made some solid points on his NBA podcast regarding DWade. Wade has looked overweight these past couple years, and when you add in the factor of a bad knee, it magnifies it even more. Bowen said that he needs to drop 20 pounds and become leaner, put less strain on his bad knee.
 
Put to me, Wade doesn't seem like that type of guy. I'm not saying he's lazy, but he certainly seems content. And their is no reason to fault him for being content, I suppose. I just don't see that as something he would be very interested in putting in the hard work towards. Israel Gutierrez mentioned the fact that it's well known that Wade's diet is pretty terrible, he doesn't like fish or vegetables. If he hasn't figured it out by now, he probably doesn't see it as a problem.

 

[wutang112878]

Does Wade try to improve his game at all in the off season? 

 
If he does:
 

Bruce Bowen has made some solid points on his NBA podcast regarding DWade. Wade has looked overweight these past couple years, and when you add in the factor of a bad knee, it magnifies it even more. Bowen said that he needs to drop 20 pounds and become leaner, put less strain on his bad knee.
 
Put to me, Wade doesn't seem like that type of guy. I'm not saying he's lazy, but he certainly seems content. And their is no reason to fault him for being content, I suppose. I just don't see that as something he would be very interested in putting in the hard work towards. Israel Gutierrez mentioned the fact that it's well known that Wade's diet is pretty terrible, he doesn't like fish or vegetables. If he hasn't figured it out by now, he probably doesn't see it as a problem.

 
This hits the nail on the head.  Now I'll slightly change the point and say I'm not exactly sure what his body fat % is but part of the problem is also that I think Wade believes to stay healthy he needs to have bulk on his frame.  And that made a lot of sense early in his career when his game was predicated on driving to the basket and as he was undersized he needed to be able to absorb hits.  However, he has never transitioned his game or his body to be more of an outside shooting type of player and drive to the hoop just enough so that defenders will play back on him a bit.
 
Getting back to the original point, putting laziness aside, I really dont know if he wants or realizes he has to fundamentally change his game going outside and drop all of this weight.  Its too bad because if he did I really could see him playing effectively for another 3 years, and if he doesnt do this its going to get real embarrassing really quick

 

[HomeRunBaker]

The weight wasn't a problem during the regular season when he had an All-Star season and a very efficient scorer despite being primarily a mid-range shooter. The weight wasn't a problem earlier in the playoffs when he took over games.

The problem began from what I saw in Game 1(?) when he pulled himself out of the game not once but TWICE with what looked like a problem with his knee and hadn't been the same since. I'll wait for my observation to be confirmed when Wade has some type of procedure on his knee in the coming weeks/months.

I'm sure Wade could take better care of his body as you can always be better but to me it's the old chicken and egg argument between the condition of his knee and his weight.

 

[fairlee76]

No way is Wade worth the max.
 

Yes, by practicing karate and jiu jitsu.

I love starting the morning with a laugh.  This is good stuff.

 

[ElUno20]

I cant believe this is a serious question. its been clear for a while but the finals were his funeral. He cant even masquerade around as a top player anymore.

His goal should be to become the black Manu. Come off the bench as a spark and start in a pinch or as a change of pace in a series.

 

[jon abbey]

The weight wasn't a problem during the regular season when he had an All-Star season and a very efficient scorer despite being primarily a mid-range shooter. The weight wasn't a problem earlier in the playoffs when he took over games.

 
He sat out 28 games along the way to try to keep himself fresh for the playoffs, and still his WS/48 and PER both regressed to the lowest they'd been since 2007-2008. 

 

[HomeRunBaker]

 
He sat out 28 games along the way to try to keep himself fresh for the playoffs, and still his WS/48 and PER both regressed to the lowest they'd been since 2007-2008. 

Yes he regressed from super elite to elite this year. This happens to 2-guards as they approach mid-30's with the Miller/Allen exceptions which in Wade's case is being accelerated due to his knee. I'm certainly not arguing for him getting a new max deal as that's preposterous however Wade was still an elite player this year as recently as two weeks ago until he apparently reinjured himself.

 

[Mugthis]

Right. Wade was very good during the regular season last year, very good this year in limited time, very good in the EC playoffs, including against an elite defensive team in Indiana. He was genuinely god awful against San Antonio this year and pretty bad during most of the playoffs last year. So, Wade can certainly play at an elite level still (since at his peak, he may have been the 2nd most effective shooting guard ever, behind only Jordan. So he has a long way to fall). However...I don't see any reason to expect his knee to get any better, or even avoid getting worse, and his game does not seem very adaptable. I can't see him extending his career my molding his game like Jordan, Kobe, or even Ray Allen.
 
I put this together, to give some perspective. Here's Jordan, Kobe, and Wade, by Win Shares (regular season + playoffs) by age, with a fitted curve.
 

 

[Devizier]

God, MJ was ridiculous.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Would like to see where LeBron fits on that chart as well.

It looks like he'd be somewhere between Jordan and Kobe leaning down closer to Kobe in some years.

 

[Reardon's Beard]

Close but not quite.