Miami Heat president Pat Riley took ownership of the fact that Dwyane Wade opted to leave South Beach last week, admitting on Saturday that the veteran superstar's departure "floored" him.
Riley also noted that he is not sure when Chris Bosh will return to the fold after the 11-time All-Star center missed portions of the last two seasons due to recurrence of blood-clotting issues.
Wade accepted Chicago's two-year, $47 million contract after turning down an offer of two years for $40 million to return to Miami. Riley told ESPN that he was not as involved in the negotiation process for the 34-year-old guard, who helped the Heat to three NBA titles and is the franchise's all-time leading scorer.
"What happened with Dwyane floored me," Riley told ESPN. "I'm going to miss the fact of what I might have had planned for him and his future and how I saw the end and my thought process in how I could see his end here with the Heat. ... It's my responsibility to sort of make that happen. I didn't make it happen. Dwyane left, and the buck stops here."
Wade also was reportedly upset with Miami re-signing Hassan Whiteside to a mega-deal rather than paying him the money he sought.
In 855 regular-season games with the Heat, Wade averaged 23.7 points and shot 48.8 percent. He averaged 19 points in 74 games last season after missing a combined 48 contests due to various injuries the previous two seasons.
Riley also attempted to shed light on the health of Bosh, who missed the final 29 games of the season.
"It's always fluid and it always has been," Riley said of the 11-time All-Star's health. "I know he wants to play and we would be open to that."
Bosh averaged 19.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in 53 games last season.
