The Miami Heat didn't want the Dwyane Wade era to end. Not like this.
Not after team president Pat Riley two years ago gave his famous "guts" speech heading into the 2014 free-agency period and promptly watched LeBron James take his talents back to Cleveland. A few weeks ago, Riley made another bold call in free agency, naming Hassan Whiteside -- not Wade -- the Heat's "No. 1 priority" to a room full of reporters. After negotiations quickly went south, Wade packed his bags and went north to Chicago.
And while that wasn't the ending the Heat wanted, from their perspective, the Wade departure likely was for the best.