For a man engaged to be wedded any day now, a part of Dwyane Wade has to feel like the world’s most abandoned man.
Four years ago, Gabrielle Union’s fiancée all but ceded his South Beach kingdom to LeBron James, only to exasperatingly watch The King walk away this week without so much as a public acknowledgement of the sacrifices he made in allowing him to come to Miami and earn the back-to-back NBA titles that now stand out on his hoops résumé and make his return to his roots all the more acceptable to those who once served as his most supreme critics.
And still DWade rises, rises to take the high road, even after James’ clearly uneven actions mislead him to leave at least $40 million in guaranteed money on the table as part of yet another sacrifice aimed at preserving the legacy he thought they were yet building.
“As a friend and a teammate, I am sad to see my brother LeBron leave to begin a new journey,” Wade said in a statement. “In 2010, we decided to come together all for one goal — to win championships and we succeeded. We were friends when we first joined the league and created an unbreakable bond the past four years. Our collaboration will always be very special to me both personally and professionally. We shared something unique and he will always be part of my family. LeBron made the right decision for him and his family because home is where your heart is. I know this was not an easy decision to make and I support him in returning to his roots. As an organization, a community, and as individuals, we achieved the goals we set when we first signed on together. We are champions.”
And now LeBron James moves forward, all in the name of the preservation of The King. All others, brother or not, be damned.
Wade now painfully has more in common with Dan Gilbert than he’d ever care to admit. The Cleveland Cavaliers owner blasted The Chosen One as an opportunist to the worse degree when he deserted his hometown team four years ago and now his bro Wade also finds himself having “Clevelanded” by James.
Yes, diplomacy can be a virtue, but I’ll say what Dwyane Wade won’t. If not for the most lucrative deal, James certainly took the most convenient opportunity in exiting South Beach, two rings in hand, and heading back to the roots he all of a sudden can’t live without.
Wade left more than $40 million in guaranteed money on the table to try to make it work with James, but in the end it wasn’t about money at all, at least not any not earmarked for The King.
And still, Wade rises, rises to commit himself to digging the only team he has ever known out of the hole it now finds itself in. He’s been that same DWade even when the more lucrative of opportunities have come his way and seemed to grow even more resolute in it when he paved the way for his “brother” to come to town.
“We shared something unique and he will always be part of my family,” said Wade. “As an organization, a community, and as individuals, we achieved the goals we set when first signed on together. We are champions.”
But apparently being LeBron James means even more.
