Wade Doing Hard Recruiting: New Lease on Life a Factor?

Is there a correlation between Dwyane Wade’s recent divorce and his pending free agency status?

Wade is doing something no other player seems to be able to do right now – rally his fellow marquee free agent friends to play in Miami. Essentially, Wade is doing what Riley cannot – recruit.

For Riley to make any visits or comment on any player would result in tampering. Of course, the NBA has a moratorium on discussions from officials about player movement – including the players themselves – but the speculation has been rampant. In this light, it is obvious that IF a meeting took place in Miami between Bosh, Wade, and James, it would be denied and refuted vehemently so to protect the players.

That said, right now, as a Heat fan you have to like the way this is working out. Sure, there is nothing definite, but things are looking good for Miami. Riley has put them in the right place to land Lebron James and could maneuver to get Chris Bosh out of Toronto, too. There is another x-factor in play though – Dwyane Wade’s divorce.

Look, I don’t care to peruse the personal life of anyone, especially celebrities. We are all human, and all have our faults and mistakes and will have our shares of ups and downs. Yet it cannot escape attention that in order for Dwyane Wade to move forward confidently in this crucial time of his professional life, his personal life had to be squared away. This has to be a breath of fresh air and a burden off of Wade to know that his now ex-wife cannot be involved in his future earnings. This is Wade’s time to shine, time for him to build up his business and market his image for his benefit. He also knows that to get a team together built around Lebron James and Chris Bosh would help make  him a better player and, so be it, a more marketable commodity. Bosh knows it, too. James, obviously, is looking to do more than just be a poster child for Nike, but rather wants to be associated with winning.

Let’s not doubt these players drive to win. Sure, we can be cynical about multi-million dollar athletes just scrounging to get more money but at a certain point, the money isn’t the thing anymore. It certainly doesn’t propel players to get better – especially after they have amassed hundreds of millions already. There has to be more. Wade’s personal life can now be put behind him and he can focus on winning on the court. Of course, his future winnings will now be controlled by him, which is extra motivation, too.