Heat Want You To Want Wade

Official suggestions include shouting at Wade on the street and buying him dessert.

If Gabrielle Union had just waited a few months, she'd be able to tell Dwyane Wade how much she wants him without being sued.

But alas, the Heat just unveiled an interactive community retention plea called "We Want Wade" today. The begging will be housed at wewantwade.com, a website where fans can leave voice or text messages for our favorite impending free agent, upload video tributes, and order a free fan kit with printable signs and "things to wear." (Oooh, we hope it's buttons!)

The Heat are also encouraging fans to literally holler at their boy if they see him on the street, which won't get old to Wade at all. Nope. But naturally, the website promptly buckled under heavy traffic, so it's so far so good for the campaign unless you work in the Heat's IT department.

"I didn't expect anything like that," Wade told the Sun-Sentinel today. "I just found that out. I thought it was hilarious. But I appreciate it. I do, I really do."

The giant public gesture is a departure from the Heat's previous recruiting philosophy, but with so much on the line they ain't too proud to beg. Wade has the option to sign a six-year contract extension with the Heat beginning July 8, but he also has the option to sign with anyone else who wants him -- and teams in the running are likely to put on a full-court press. 

So it's up to us, Miami, to avoid utter disaster. It helps, of course, that the Heat can both pay Wade more than anyone else, and spend more on other free agents than any other team. But  we'll need your tired, your teary, your keyboard cats in no. 3 jerseys. If we have to bring Chris Quinn back, well, it's not gonna be pretty.

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