Dwyane Wade insists that he has no hard feelings toward Pat Riley after his departure from the Miami Heat.
Wade spoke to reporters at his youth basketball camp in Miami on Saturday, saying that he understands the business side of the game and loves the Heat president.
“It’s going to be a lot of stuff said about me and Pat,” Wade said, via ESPN’s Michael Wallace. “First of all, I love Pat. He has a job to do. He has a different hat to wear. That hat sometimes is not to be my best friend. That hat is to be the president of the organization and to be a businessman, and that sucks. You love each other, but the business side comes out, and you have to deal with it.”
“I’m not saying we’ve hugged and cried and shared tears at this moment, but I love Pat and will always love Pat. And I know he feels the say way about me.”
It’s clear that no matter what took place during negotiations, Wade still has a place in his heart for Miami.
“I’m never bashing Pat Riley. I’m never bashing the Miami Heat organization. I’m never saying nothing negative about them out of my mouth,” Wade said. “Does the way that process goes down [make] you angry? Yes. Do you feel a certain way about stuff? Yes.
“Like I said, the business side just comes into play sometimes, and it’s an ugly, ugly side. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing but love from me.”
It’s been reported that Riley wasn’t even that personally involved in the negotiations that helped drive Wade out of Miami and to the Chicago Bulls. Still, Wade knows that the way this ended doesn’t overshadow the 13 years he had with the team.
