Dwyane Wade weighs in on the Miami Heat's whale hunts

The franchise's ultimate star wants to see his old team get another

Apr 5, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) looks to pass the ball as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) defends during overtime at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

When it comes to the Miami Heat, excellence is the standard.

In that excellence comes great players, winning basketball, and a constant trend of "this player wants to be on the Heat" or "the Miami Heat are expected to pursue." Well over the last decade --not including the Jimmy Butler trade-- the Miami Heat have failed on the front that they once excelled at, and Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade helps explain why.

“Let’s do it or let’s not do it. Every time we hear something it’s ’Miami, Miami, Miami.’ People don’t look at the dollars, don’t look at the assets. People don’t look at none of that stuff. Now, you can get creative and get other teams involved. Would it be exciting to land a whale? Yes. Would it work? Who knows. Miami is always whale hunting and there’s some whales out there. Miami name will always come up when it’s a whale, a fish, when it’s a pebble in the motherf*cking water, Miami will come up.

Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade on the Heat being rumored in every trade destination for players like Ja Morant, and Giannis 👀

“Let’s do it or let’s not do it. Everytime we hear something it’s ’Miami, Miami, Miami.’ People don’t look at the dollars, don’t look at the assets. People don’t look at… pic.twitter.com/fJBr7BQQIL

— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) January 22, 2026

The situations

Now while Miami has failed to achieve many super stars, Wade is right, often times people look at the situations on the surface. They don't look at Miami's low chest of picks, they don't look at the way they value the talent on their team, and they don't look at the financial implications.

Beyond all this, who knows if it would ever have paid off. Sure, when Jimmy Butler was here if the Heat landed Damian Lillard, could they have won the title, sure. But also, the Miami Heat have every right to believe that if Bam wasn't hurt, or Goran wasn't hurt, or whatever other reason, that they would have hoisted a trophy in the Jimmy Butler era. But hindsight is always 20/20.

Who have the missed out on?

Well, the Miami Heat have missed out on a lot, which is another reasons fans and media members alike don't believe they can strike out again, especially with the current state of the team. The Heat have been rumored and/or fallen short of, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Bradley Beal, James Harden, and many others.

Chat…. Look at all the players the Heat missed out on 😭 pic.twitter.com/As8BWPOmH0

— 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙉𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 (@HeatvsHaters) June 22, 2025

Now the tables have shifted to two new disgruntled super stars, that would shape the next 10+ years of Miami Heat basketball, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Ja Morant.

Morant, likely cheaper, but not necessarily the piece that puts the Heat over the top, and Giannis, who would almost certainly propel the Heat to being contenders in not only the East but the NBA.

Will they pull the trigger this time, who knows. But I know one thing, they need to pick a direction, and if they are going to sit around and wait for these stars to ask out, and ultimately not pull the trigger, there will need to be some uncomfortable decisions about the way the Heat run things.