Hands
Bench Warmer
D-Wade said he’d love to play for Mike D’Antoni in New York.
“I mean, I love offense. Why wouldn’t I?” Wade said during a promotional trip to the NBA Store. “I love him. When we’re in practice, I love Nate McMillan, but I want to be on Mike D’Antoni’s team because Nate is preaching all defense and Mike is preaching all offense.”
Asked how D’Antoni will go from being an assistant coach for Team USA to head coach of the rebuilding Knicks, Wade came up with, “It’s going to be exciting.” Easy for him to say.
“We had a lot of dialogue throughout every practice because we open up against the Knicks the first game of the season,” Wade said. “So I look forward to seeing Coach on the other side on the 29th when we play here in New York.
“He’s a great coach. He’s unbelievable. He’s a very smart coach, especially offensively. He’s got a tough job on his hands, not just because of the team he has but because of the city he’s in. But I think if anybody can do it, he’s one of the guys that can do it. You’ve just got to have patience. And I think he’ll have patience.”
Speaking of patience, Wade may need to develop some if speculation is accurate that Miami is the most likely landing spot for Stephon Marbury if and when the Knicks part ways with him through a trade or (more likely) a buyout. The Heat need a point guard, but won’t give up much of anything for Marbury if they know the Knicks are going to have to boot him anyway.
Having played on the 2004 Olympic team with Marbury, Wade knows all that he brings to the table – good and bad. But he skillfully dodged my question about whether he could play with Steph.
“My experience playing with him in ’04, I didn’t really play with him because I was his backup,” Wade said. “The three or four minutes that he came out, I had an opportunity to get in there. So I never really played with him.
“You never can judge a guy by what you’ve heard because if that was the case, then Shaq wouldn’t have been the ideal teammate for me as well. He came to Miami and everything I heard about him, none of it showed. You can’t ever judge a guy by what he’s done in his past or what you’ve heard about him.”
Anyway, Wade said he believes playing in the Olympics has him more ready for the season than if he’d chosen to sit out and rest his surgically repaired left knee, which shelved him for the final two months last season.
“Not playing the last 23 games of the season, if I’d have gone the whole summer [without playing], that would have been a long time without competition,” he said. “I had an opportunity to play against the best competition in the world, and I was very healthy doing it. Coming into next season, I get a jump-start. I’m in a better position now than if I didn’t play in the Olympics.”
For you shoe buffs: Wade did nothing to quell rumors that he’s unhappy with Converse and is looking at other options when his shoe deal expires. Asked if he sees himself with Converse long-term and if he likes his shoe, Wade said, “I’m under contract for another couple of years.”
With Converse, and with the Heat.
Remember that Lebron isn't the only big fish off contract in 2010
“I mean, I love offense. Why wouldn’t I?” Wade said during a promotional trip to the NBA Store. “I love him. When we’re in practice, I love Nate McMillan, but I want to be on Mike D’Antoni’s team because Nate is preaching all defense and Mike is preaching all offense.”
Asked how D’Antoni will go from being an assistant coach for Team USA to head coach of the rebuilding Knicks, Wade came up with, “It’s going to be exciting.” Easy for him to say.
“We had a lot of dialogue throughout every practice because we open up against the Knicks the first game of the season,” Wade said. “So I look forward to seeing Coach on the other side on the 29th when we play here in New York.
“He’s a great coach. He’s unbelievable. He’s a very smart coach, especially offensively. He’s got a tough job on his hands, not just because of the team he has but because of the city he’s in. But I think if anybody can do it, he’s one of the guys that can do it. You’ve just got to have patience. And I think he’ll have patience.”
Speaking of patience, Wade may need to develop some if speculation is accurate that Miami is the most likely landing spot for Stephon Marbury if and when the Knicks part ways with him through a trade or (more likely) a buyout. The Heat need a point guard, but won’t give up much of anything for Marbury if they know the Knicks are going to have to boot him anyway.
Having played on the 2004 Olympic team with Marbury, Wade knows all that he brings to the table – good and bad. But he skillfully dodged my question about whether he could play with Steph.
“My experience playing with him in ’04, I didn’t really play with him because I was his backup,” Wade said. “The three or four minutes that he came out, I had an opportunity to get in there. So I never really played with him.
“You never can judge a guy by what you’ve heard because if that was the case, then Shaq wouldn’t have been the ideal teammate for me as well. He came to Miami and everything I heard about him, none of it showed. You can’t ever judge a guy by what he’s done in his past or what you’ve heard about him.”
Anyway, Wade said he believes playing in the Olympics has him more ready for the season than if he’d chosen to sit out and rest his surgically repaired left knee, which shelved him for the final two months last season.
“Not playing the last 23 games of the season, if I’d have gone the whole summer [without playing], that would have been a long time without competition,” he said. “I had an opportunity to play against the best competition in the world, and I was very healthy doing it. Coming into next season, I get a jump-start. I’m in a better position now than if I didn’t play in the Olympics.”
For you shoe buffs: Wade did nothing to quell rumors that he’s unhappy with Converse and is looking at other options when his shoe deal expires. Asked if he sees himself with Converse long-term and if he likes his shoe, Wade said, “I’m under contract for another couple of years.”
With Converse, and with the Heat.
Remember that Lebron isn't the only big fish off contract in 2010
