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Dwyane Wade had preliminary contract discussions with the Miami Heat but is preparing to field outside offers when NBA free agency opens Friday. League sources told ESPN.com that initial contract discussions between Wade and the Heat have not produced a common ground, meaning the star guard could consider leaving the franchise where he has played 13 seasons and won three titles.
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Wade's representatives have made it known to multiple teams over the past several days that he will be on the market, according to ESPN.
Last summer, Wade and the Heat battled back and forth before finally agreeing on a one-year, $20 million deal for this past season.
"I hope that everything is quiet and works out the way I want it to," Wade said at the end of the season. "But I have no control over that, as much as people might think. It's a lot of moving parts in free agency. I'm not worried about it."
In 2015-16, the 34-year-old Wade played in 74 games, his most in five years, and averaged 19 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
Heat president Pat Riley has said the Heat would make the situation work for Wade.
"He wants to win I think as much as he wants to do anything," Riley recently told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. "Compensation to a player is not just a way to get paid and live your life. Compensation to a player is about recognition and respect and a place. And so, we know where he belongs.
"When we get down and discuss it, it will be predicated on a lot of factors. He's a lifer. What he's done in this city over the last 13 years is irreplaceable. So, we want to do the right thing. There's no doubt."
