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Miami Heat's Pat Riley Reiterates His Regret Of Mishandling Dwyane Wade Departure

Miami Heat team president Pat Riley called Dwyane Wade leaving the franchise a regrettable moment

Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade being recently inducted to the Hall of Fame provided Pat Riley yet another chance to apologize for Wade leaving the organization. 

Riley spoke about it during a recent interview NBC6 Miami. 

"The departure was a huge mistake on our part, mine," Riley said. "Not to go back and regurgitate why and what happened, is that our franchise player, our prodigal son, so to speak, put us on the map, really, along with Alonzo and Tim Hardaway and everybody else prior to that, to walk away. That was not one of our best moments. I take full responsibility." 

After being drafted by the Heat in 2003, Wade left in 2016 because of a disagreement on both side. He signed with the Chicago Bulls and later played with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After 18 months away, Wade returned to finish his career in Miami. 

"But to have him come back was great," Riley said. "To have him have that last season was great. To be able to retire his number and go through the whole process with Dwyane ending his career ... I'm so appreciative of what he did for us." 

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Shandel Richardson covers the Miami Heat for Inside The Heat.

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