Were you to untether yourself from the cinder block of common sense and follow this NBA free agency period as it bobs up and down on the swells of rumor and emotion, you'd be puking in a matter of moments.
“Winning is [number] one,” Wade said of his signing/re-signing criteria in Dime Mag. “There’s no question about it. Location might be number two. For me, mass appeal. And then money is last.”
It would sound nauseating to Heat fans, except money is never last, is it? For all the players' talk about passing up larger checks from current employers for a better chance at a championship stranglehold, no one player has ever actually chosen winning over a max contract.
Not until they're in the twilight of their careers, anyway, and just happy someone still wants them.
It explains why Dwyane Wade favors a stay in Miami. It explains why all of a sudden Lebron's on Larry King, extoling the virtues of Cleveland and admitting the Cavs have an edge.
It's why there's so much talk about giving up cash for a chance at a ring in the first place: there's little possibility anyone will be expected to follow through, or faulted when they don't. Not when so many ex-players struggle financially and the future is always uncertain.
"I really don't know [if a player could really choose chance over a max contract]," Toronto's Chris Bosh told the AP around midseason. "It's a business, so that would be tough to do. You'd really have to make a big commitment to do that."
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Which isn't us calling Dwyane Wade a liar. We're sure he means it. It's just easier to say such things when you aren't actually staring at a contract, pen in hand, that features a $30 million dollar pay cut and no guarantee you'll be more of a winner.
So let's all just breathe a little easier, and let this thing play out: we're all still greedy at heart, thank goodness, and some of us have run out of dramamine.
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
