By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
According to Stephen A. Smith on Thursday’s First Take, Dwyane Wade left the Miami Heat over $4 million when Birdman was the guest. He spent the first 13 years of his career in Wade County before this off-season.
Smith said that Hassan Whiteside, a restricted free agent at the time, was willing to give up that money to allow the team to sign star free-agent Kevin Durant.

On July 4th, Durant told The Players Tribune that he was signing a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors. It’s a one-year deal with an option for the second year, which is commonly known as the “LeBron deal.”
READ MORE: Click here for our latest NBA coverage
Do you like sports betting? Check out what our sports betting and casino partners have to offer to you.
Do you like what we do? Do you want to support The Capital Sports Report? You can make a monetary donation here.
When Durant decided to join the Warriors, Wade thought that Whiteside should still give up the $4 million to allow the team to sign him. However, according to Smith, Whiteside wasn’t willing to do that.
Wade signed a two-year deal with his hometown Chicago Bulls worth $47.5 million. He said that growing up a Bulls fan when Michael Jordan was there helped inspire his signing — but there’s more to it than that.
Pat Riley, the Heat’s defacto general manager, showed very little interest in signing Wade this off-season. The last known public offer by the Heat was a two-year, $40 million.
The speculation by Smith means that the Heat upped the offer to $43 million. Riley says now that he “regrets” that Wade left town — even when he guided the team to their three NBA Championships.
READ MORE: Click here for our latest Sports coverage
Riley and his brass elected to sign Whiteside to a four-year, $98 million deal. Shortly after Wade announced that he’ll sign with the Bulls, the team matched the Brooklyn Nets offer sheet for unproven Tyler Johnson.
His contract is a four-year, $50 million deal. Recently, Johnson said he’s “thrown up a few times” after signing that contract.
Editorial Note: There are affiliated links on this page. We may receive compensation if you purchase a product through a link on our site. If you enjoy our work and would like to donate to support our coverage, you can do so through this PayPal link https://paypal.me/tcsrmedianj
Follow Us on Social Media:Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, Tumblr, YouTube, and TruthSocial
Check out our videos: Videos Keep Independent Journalism Alive! Ad-free experience and Exclusive Premium-plus content. Join our Paid Substack for additional content for $10 per month. This is ad-free content. We believe that what you read matters and great writing is valuable. Through Substack, writers can flourish by being paid directly by their readers.© 2007-2025 The Capital Sports Report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed.