Will Dwyane Wade forego the final $16.1 million of his current contract for a max deal in the City of Angels? Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix is reporting that the Miami Heat superstar, who has an estimated net worth of $110 million according to Forbes, may do just that.
Yesterday, Mannix tweeted out that the Lakers and Wade have a mutual interest in one another.
In Late May, The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson wrote about the deadlock in negotiations between the Heat and their disgruntled star.
"Though Wade prefers to stay with the Heat, where he has spent his entire 12-year career, he is now open to considering other teams this summer if the Heat does not raise its offer, according to three sources with direct knowledge.
Wade said last summer that he was curious to see what he could command in the summer of 2016, when the cap is expected to skyrocket from $67 million to $89 million. That led to the belief that Wade would opt-in this summer.
But according to associates, Wade wants to opt out this summer, with the hope that the Heat would give him a lucrative three-year deal that would extend past his 36th birthday."
Wade is no doubt looking for a longer deal than the two year $31 million deal he signed for last summer. The 33 year old shooting guard is entering the latter stages of his career and would most likely want to secure a final max level deal on a title contender. If a long term extension between Wade and the Heat cannot be reached, the Lakers seem to be one of Wade's preferred landing spots.
The Lakers do have the salary cap room to offer Wade a max deal, even with Kobe Bryant's astronomical wages on the bill, but their rebuilding roster is still a long ways a way from a title push, especially in the cut throat Western Conference.
Wade's current team, The Miami Heat was ravaged by injures throughout the season. Both he and fellow superstar Chris Bosh missed significant game time which resulted in them missing the playoffs despite a thin Eastern Conference field.
