Life without Wade begins for Heat. Winslow: ‘You can’t replace him, nor should we try’
Dwyane Wade’s 16th and final NBA season didn’t end in the NBA playoffs. But that was about the only thing that didn’t go according to script.
“I gave 100 percent. For me, I’m happy with this season,” the 37-year-old Wade said late Wednesday night about an hour after the Heat’s season and his NBA career came to an end in Brooklyn. “Unfortunately for our organization and our team, we weren’t able to put ourselves in position to win enough games to be in the playoffs. But what I wanted for the season, I can say I completed that.”
The Heat finished with a 39-43 record, which is its second-lowest win total in the past 11 seasons. It marked the third time in a five-year span the Heat has missed the postseason, but just the sixth time since Pat Riley joined the organization 24 seasons ago.
While the disappointment was there because of a season that didn’t include the playoffs, there was also plenty of appreciation from Heat players and coaches for Wade and how he handled the final days and months of his NBA career.
“There haven’t been many successful guys that have done a retirement tour and been able to manage everything and strike a balance where it’s not only about you,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Dwyane did that brilliantly. This was about the team. He was breathing life into young players, creating a new generation of Miami Heat players with our young guys that, with his guidance, they took on another level. I cherish that.”
Forward James Johnson said the 2018-19 season will go down as one of the most memorable of his career, even with the Heat not making the playoffs because “you can’t take this year away from me. Of course, you want it to have a storybook ending. But, you know, us not going into the playoffs and still getting ‘One Last Dance’ tonight, things like that just make it easier to finish the job.”
“It makes this year, and all the ups and all the downs that we had this whole year, it makes it worth it 10 times,” Johnson said.
“His takeover moments, his teaching moments, his events. Just him and [Udonis Haslem] together is a show. There is no really one specific moment I can remember. All I know is this year wouldn’t have been the same without him.”
What will the Heat miss most about Wade, who is relocating his life to Los Angeles after the season?
“Everything,” Justise Winslow said. “Big shots, in the huddles, his voice in the locker room, his leadership, his IQ on the court. We’re going to miss it all. You can’t replace him, nor should we try. We have to be our own selves.”
It’s not just the leadership the Heat will miss. Wade was also one of the Heat’s most productive players on the court this season, averaging 15 points on 43.3 percent shooting, four rebounds and 4.2 assists in 72 games.
Wade also led the Heat in fourth-quarter points per game (4.6), fourth-quarter shots per game (4.2) and fourth-quarter usage rate (28.6 percent).
“You can’t replace him. You can’t even ask, ‘How are you going to fill that void?’ You can’t,” Winslow said. “We got to be ourselves. Ultimately, guys like [Josh Richardson] and myself, Bam [Adebayo], we got to step into that leadership role. But I don’t want to use that, ‘How are we going to replace him? How are we going to do without him?’ We’ll figure that out. Right now, I’m going to enjoy this and I’m looking forward to taking that next step next year.”
The Heat will have to figure that out because there will be no comeback for Wade. He’s 100 percent certain Wednesday was his final NBA game.
“I haven’t wavered at one point, and I’ve had everyone’s support the whole way,” Wade said. “That’s the cool thing about this. I’ve always had a lot of support in decisions that have been great and decisions that haven’t been so great. I’ve had people that supported me through it all. This is for real. I won’t be making a comeback. You don’t retire at 37 and make a comeback.
“I can retire and be happy about my career, my body of work and everything I’ve been able to accomplish. I’m good with it.”
For the Heat, it will take time to adjust to life without Wade.
“You’re going to have to give me some time on that,” Spoelstra said. “When he left for Chicago, my wife snapped me back into attention. It took me probably a month or six weeks to stop feeling sorry and feeling depressed about it because that was just a big change. This will probably take a little bit longer, but we’ll get through it.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2019 at 1:34 PM.
