Source: Wade Ain’t Comin’

by Chris Alvino on April 24th, 2010 at 1:44 am

Somtimes it is true that friends know each other better than anyone else.  After all, friends grow together and confide in each other over the course of a friendship.  If that is the case, then there might be reason to believe that Dwayne Wade has no interset in coming to New York this summer when he hits the free agent market.

An apparent friend of Wade’s caught up with Anthony Rice Balls during the Knicks – Heat game at he Garden durning the final home trip of the season and told Anthony that there is no shot that Wade will have interest in leaving for New York, let alone leaving Miami.  Wade appears to be comfortable in his current city.

Look, I have said this before and I will repeat myself here and now.  Walsh’s plan was to clear cap space in order to be a player in the free agent market this summer.  His goal is to land premier players like LeBron and/ or Wade.  To this point, it has been a goal realized and a mission not yet accomplished.  Clearly, Wade has to be a Donnie target this summer.  Forget about the fact that he will be the second best free agent on the board, he is arguably a top 5 player in the entire NBA.  With Walsh having a chance (theoretically at least) to bring him to the Knicks, you can bet that the  Knicks’ GM will at least inquire.

That said, if Wade’s long time friend is correct and he does not want to come to NY, then so be it.  As a Knick fan, I have no doubt that this team will improve drastically in the very, very near future.  LeBon James or not.  Wade or not.  Bosh or not.  At his disposal this summer, Donnie Walsh possesses two major abilities, even if he did trade away many of his premier trade assets at the deadline.  Walsh not only has more financial flexibilty than his competition, but he also has the most roster flexibility that I have ever seen a GM have during an off-season.  Make no mistake, Walsh will take advantage of both of those chips over the summer.  I have full confidence that Walsh will build a true team and a true contender during the remainder of his stay in NY.  While having LBJ or Wade would help, Donnie cannot force either of them to come here.  Walsh has the money, the coach, and the city to offer, but he still cannot make decisions for these players.  It is up to these players to decide if they want to be a part of something special.

Wade, if you’re reading, then trust me.  As a New Yorker, this is the place where you want to be.  If you decide not to come, then the Knicks will simply move on and fill their voids with other players.   

About Chris Alvino

Chris Alvino grew up in Crestwood, NY. He graduated from Regis High School in 2005. There he played both basketball and baseball. Chris is currently a student at Boston College, where he practices with the varsity Women's Basketball Team (... seriously). Chris has been a Knicks' fan for years and can literally talk about them all day long, every day of the week. Chris enjoys writing on this blog and seeing what everyone out there has to say about it. View all posts by Chris Alvino →
  • J-Knick

    Chris

    you’re implying that if plan A (Lebron or Wade + Bosh or J Johnson or Stoudemire) fails, there will be plans B,C,D,etc. which will be as good as plan A. Thats absurd.

    Nothing can be as an upgrade as signing James this summer. The T-Mac trade was all about improving the odds to achieve it by being able to sign another max FA next to him.

    D-Wade not willing to come to NY is bad news, even if predictible.

    Lebron not willing to come to NY would be a major disappointment.
    I agree with you D Walsh would still find a way to dramatically improve the team with his 37 M$ cap space, but I doubt the Knicks would become contenders in the near future.

  • steiker9

    No shit !!! We have all been saying this for months DWade was never coming here and was always staying in MIA no news here.

  • steiker9

    Unless we get Lebron how can we be sure we will make the playoffs next year?

  • mike291md

    D-Wade is a beast but he’s always injured and beat-up because of his fearless playing style. My biggest worry is, even if we were to land him, that we dump max money into a guy who is extremely injury prone. Dude is brittle, and whose to say we get him here and he can’t stay on the court (a la T-Mac)?

  • the oak

    All along Wade has been the least likely to move. Why would he want to leave Miami, a place and lifestyle that he clearly loves. They have room for another Max which I am sure they will get because Miami is a top destination for players. It wouldn’t make much sense for him to leave.

    A side note: Did you guys see the empty seats at the Heat-Celtics game last night? Wow.

  • DatNewYorker

    WE DON’T CARE

    HE LOOKS LIKE A CHIPMUNK ANYWAY

    http://petrichoric.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/chipmunk4.jpg

  • Knicks4life

    “As a Knick fan, I have no doubt that this team will improve drastically in the very, very near future. LeBon James or not. Wade or not. Bosh or not. ”

    Well drastically improving the Knicks would mean they are .500, not too hard to do that in the East. But I thought the goal was winning a championship. You aren’t doing that without LBJ, Wade, or Bosh when you don’t have any lottery picks for the next 3 years.

    As for the guy saying he wouldn’t want to give Wade max money . . .have you seen D Wade play? He gets hurt during some games, but the past two seasons he has barely missed any games. You could make the same argument for Bosh, Stoudamire, or Boozer, they get hurt a lot too do you not want them on the Knicks either?

    Actually the better question is have you seen our current roster? All four players on it. It stinks.

  • k-hodge

    I’m not surprised by that. I think we all kinda knew he would be a longshot. Although, it’s hard to imagine why he would be so in love playing for a city that can’t fill an arena for a playoff game. I guess warm weather and hot chicks are more important to him…fair enough. NY is a special place to play, and it takes a special person to carry that weight, maybe Wade doesn’t have it. In my heart, I believe Lebron is the person that can carry the burden of playing for such a passionate fan base, with such global exposure. Does he leave Cleveland? I don’t know, and neither do any of you. If Wade is happy, god bless him, and good luck. We’ll still be able to improve, and we’ll be fine.

    @ Knicks4 – you said “You aren’t doing that without LBJ, Wade, or Bosh when you don’t have any lottery picks for the next 3 years.”
    I have to disagree. Not for nothing, the only one of that group that HAS won a ring was Wade, and he hasn’t made it out of the first round since Shaq left. What disturbs me is that we give NO credit to the pieces we have in place. You guys (not you specifically Knicks4life), act as though there is NO room, and NO Chance for self improvement from the guys that are here. You say we have no lottery picks, well, We do. We only gave Houston one future pick, the other one we swap. It remains to be seen how that plays out. But we have still have Gallo, and this kid gets it. I would bet good money he comes back ready for the next level. Bill Walker, if not for the Knee injuries, would have been a lottery pick. Let’s see if he puts in the work and slims down this summer. Have you watched this kid play? If he drops 20lbs with his explosion, I’d say that qualifies for a pretty damn good baller. Wilson is solid, although I believe he is close to his ceiling, but not quite there, and Tony Douglas is just finishing up his rookie campaign. But look at this kid, he’s smart, and gritty, with a solid stroke. He just started logging minutes at the end of the season, but we act like he was running the show the whole 82 games. He’s gonna learn, and he only gets better from here, he’s shown no indication that we shouldn’t have the faith in him that he’ll improve. Guys, stop diminishing the value of our own talent. We have good young pieces, as good as anybody elses, if not better, we need to act like it. Show a little faith that these kids have the character, and the guts to put in the work to improve their games. As fans, we’re so fckin jaded that we think anybody wearing the Jersey is a worthless bum with no hope. Look how we beat up David Lee. This guy was the 30th pick, with no offensive game. Through his own hard work, he turned himself into an all-star, or at the very least, a borderline all-star. It doesn’t take lottery picks to find talent, it takes hard working players, and a scouting staff that can see potential. Gilbert Arenas, Monta Ellis, John Stockton..Not bad 2nd round talent. Have a little faith guys, they’re all not named Eddy Curry..

  • Knicks4life

    “We have good young pieces, as good as anybody elses, if not better, we need to act like it. ”

    Actually I think we have one of the worst core of young players in the league (not the worst but pretty close). In order to have room for two max Ks we have to release everybody but Gallo, Chandler, TD, and Curry. Of those Gallo has the most potential but I wouldn’t build around him. Everyone complains about Wade being hurt and missing games but what about Chandler. The kid is my favorite Knick but I wouldn’t build around him either. Tony Douglas is a guy without a position to me. He is best suited as a combo gaurd. Remember he couldn’t even consistently start for our horrible team last year.

    Sorry, unless we get Wade, LBJ, or Bosh I can’t look at this one with rose colored glasses. No way we get a lottery pick next year. That would mean both we and Houston misses the playoffs and even then Houston gets the higher pick.

    You do have me on thing though. I don’t know what to make of Bill Walker yet. I have to see him actually play on a good team. A lot of guys look good on bad teams and horrible on good teams. We’ll see, if they retain him.

    If the team trades for Chris Paul, Deron Wiliams, or an elite player I’l ladmit I was wrong and getting all this cap space was the right move. But without that, I think we gave up too much on a dream. Anyway, we shall see, July 1.

  • WhoCares

    “there is no shot that Wade will have interest in leaving Miami, let alone leaving Miami”

    So does Wade have interest in leaving Miami?

  • Chris Alvino

    To clarify, let me say this…

    Plan A is LeBron James. In my mind, there is only that Plan A going into the summer. If Walsh strikes out on him, then that would be a huge knock on this franchise.

    With that in mind, do I think the organization will fold if James does not come… or Wade for that matter? No. I think Walsh will improve this team a ton this summer regardless.

    I am not saying that there will be a better option that LBJ or Wade this summer. No way.

  • k-hodge

    I agree that we gave up a lot in terms of tangibles versus possibility. However, it gives us an opportunity like we haven’t had before. And that’s all you can ask for, is the opportunity. We have Eddy’s expiring, which can be turned into two solid pieces to help round out the roster. I don’t believe NO trades Chris Paul. But the reality is, they’re hurting financially, and their attendance can’t support the huge contracts they’re locked into. I think everyone would would agree with that. I also think they’re smart enough to realize that in order to relieve some of that financial burden, it’s going to cost them something. If I’m Donnie Walsh, and you want me to take on over $30m of YOUR long term debt, what’s in it for me? a young cheap player? Collison perhaps? What is so unrealistic about that? I mean, we’re not talking peanuts here, we’re talking about tens of millions of real dollars, no fictitious pull it out of your ass numbers, we’re talking hardcore dollars. Okafers contract is over $10m per for the next 5, and he’s not working out for them. Now, if we get that, we fill 2 pieces, a solid cheap young PG and a defensive minded center. I think Lebron would find it appealing to know that hey, if I get, lets say Amare, to come here, we can field a lineup of:
    PG – Collison
    SG – Lebron
    SF – Wilson
    PF – Gallo
    C – Amare

    Bench Walker/Douglas/Okafer/2nd round picks…I think we can win with that. And it’s not something that’s totally unrealistic. I guess my thought is a little off point, but I just want you to keep the faith, we’ll be fine.

  • blackwood

    +1!! Exactly right Knicks4life, This WHOLE thing was based on LBJ to say anything else is spin and deflection of failure. Be clear I would much rather be wrong and donnie be a genius because it would be in the best interest of the Knicks but it has always been LBJ or bust!

    Wade has never been an option, and the rest are B players by comparison.
    I have had an ugly feeling about this FA stuff for a while, Bosh to OKC!! That can happen! harden & Green and he is gone! Joe Johnson could very well end up on the Bulls where he is a perfect fit! Amare on south beach with Wade, that leaves Boozer what if the Raptors go after him after maybe trading Bosh for maybe Green & Harden? It could get ugly fast!!

    So I say do the things you can do & control to improve the team, HEAVY SCOUTING!! Make the most of the second rd and try to buy another second rd pick if we can. Pick apart the FA’s who dont get all the pub but are solid upside guys who fit your system.

    We have a lot of work a head but as of right now donnie sinks or swims with LBJ that was his plan and a worth while plan but lets hope all the eggs are not in one basket with him. As well as keeping our fingers crossed we dont end up over paying for anybody ether.

    Positives for donnie so far, went all out to make cap space (maybe 2 far)
    Bill Walker if he hits the gym hard this off season could end up being a nice pick up.

    Other then that blown LOTTERY picks, Failure to scout, miscommunication with HIS coach…Fingers crossed that Mr. Magoo gets his act together!

  • rocky

    I guess as a suck-ass team without a lotto pick and with “a plan”
    advertised for 2 years which FA’s we might get is still a big topic of conversation. But hasn’t this been talked to death and death again?

    At what point do we shut the heck up about “this guys friend said this”
    and that journalist says that, and this idiot and his uncle knows someone who…….I mean c’mon this is embarrassing.

    I have heard things from inside the Knicks org..like VERY inside,
    but I don’t publish them because you know what? I don’t think any of these
    2nd or 4th hand people know what is going on in the heads of any of the FA’s. That said it’s been obvious from day 1 that Wade in Miami works,
    and I ‘ll bet Amare winds up there too, but that’s a guess.

    Blogging about hearing from a friend of somebody is chump-stuff,
    not blog worthy.

  • Mucha

    “This WHOLE thing was based on LBJ to say anything else is spin and deflection of failure”

    LMAO

    Wrong

    This is just your interpretation, you’re just giving yourself some more reasons to hate on this regime!

  • ds2488

    Does it worry anyone else that Wade is happy with Miami? I mean seriously, I understand that its an awesome city and that he loves going to all the clubs and stuff and loves the warm weather…BUT

    1) The Heat might have the worst supporting cast in the history of the league for this year. I have never seen anything like it. They make the Knicks core look amazing. Im sure Wade goes to sleep dreaming every night about having Larry Hughes and Daniel Gibson as a supporting cast..thats how bad this current team is.

    2) The Heat might have the worst fanbase in the history of the league. Im pretty sure they didn’t even sell out or fill up for a PLAYOFF GAME. Thats not to mention the stadium is barely half full for most games..with ONE of the LEAGUES BEST PLAYERS. Crazyness.

    I just don’t get how Wade can be happy with this current situation. Since Shaq left, the Heat have been utterly terrible. Not even showing a concern for getting decent players, they have been openly tanking for 2 years now, like they were the Knicks.

  • blackwood

    So LBJ was not plan A & B for the Knicks the last 2 years?? C’mon I believe we are all smarter then that. In my last post I pointed out what Mr.Magoo IMO has done well or I hope pans out to end up being good. But I will not make believe that he has done anything to give me or anybody else the feeling that we have some genius in the big chair!

    I notice the realistc and honest body of my last post was avoided by you lol, but its cool as I said in that post…

    ” Be clear I would much rather be wrong and donnie be a genius because it would be in the best interest of the Knicks but it has always been LBJ or bust! “

  • fauci933

    It’s a blog not the New York Times…lighten up.

  • Mucha

    The Knicks couldn’t make the playoffs with Randolph and Crawford. They never made the playoffs!

    If the Knicks have enough flexibility to build a contender (or AT LEAST a perennial playoff team) it’s a SUCCESS because they weren’t going anywhere with all those huge contracts.

  • Mucha

    Maybe Wade is just more professional/respectful than LeBron.

    I don’t know – we’ll see what happens but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dwyane Wade leaves Miami.

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  • Chris Alvino

    Yeah my bad.

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  • blackwood

    That is only going to aply this year!! Those same huge contracts where done in 2011. I am saying cool move them to gear up in 2010 1 year early but lets not pretend that it was just coincidence that LBJ happened to be a FA in 2010! Or that Joe Johnson or Boozers where the real targets! We freed that money up a year early for an all out run at LBJ!! There was no other plan, they are just now trapped in an all or nothing game plan where if they miss they have to spin stuff and make it look like it was not there plan the whole time.

    I am all for an all out push for LBJ if anybody is worth a gamble he is but if thats your plan own! Insulting peoples intelligence with the “we never said we where after Lebron” crap is an insult.

    Crawford is in the playoffs and 6 man of the year he has value Z-Bo in the playoffs he has value…my point is cool go for Lebron but don’t screw up LOTTERY picks fail to scout and allow YOUR coach to set back your young players and tell me you know what your doing!! I wish the very best for the Knicks this off season but Mr.Magoo has given me plenty of reasons to have huge doubts in his ability to run this team.

  • blackwood

    “I am all for an all out push for LBJ if anybody is worth a gamble he is but if thats your plan own it!”

  • mike291md

    @Knicks4Life

    Good point, he has been pretty durable the past two seasons, I stand corrected. My biggest fear this season is we use all this money we created cap space for and get another Allen Houston situation, where someone gets all this money and then suffers a serious injury, then we are set back again.

    I just wish contracts had performance clauses b/c I can’t stand seeing an Eddy Curry lounging on the bench and getting paid and a T-Mac on the bench rubbing his knee during crunch time…gets old.

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  • rocky

    I know it’s not the NY Times the times wouldn’t waste space with a non-story, that’s why I said BS like this is not “BLOG WORTHY”

    I still don’t want to see one more BLOG about who’s cousin, friend, ex-teammate, butt-buddy, twiiter twit, super agent, soothesayer, attention ho, or LAZY BEAT JOURNALIST filling tabloid space wants to tell us where LBJ, Wade or Bosh is going on July 15.

    ps;It’s been a foregone conclusion all year that Wade was going to stay in Miami. Do you think Riley is stupid? He’s got as much cap $ to rebuild his club as the knicks do, Riley wins titles, recruits the best players, makes good players into better players. Here in NY Walsh may have a plan but he’s never lived the NBA life of Riley and I don’t think that’s gonna happen soon or ever.

  • rocky

    <>

    Most of the time friends don’t know sh-t,
    especially about their friends inner feelings
    and business dealings.

  • BigTyme

    Wade can stay in Miami; talk about ball-hogs and ball-stopper! No Way, No Wade, I’d rather have Gabrielle Union…with protection of course!!!

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