On Thursday, just before the trade deadline was set to pass, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dwyane Wade got a text from his agent Leon Rose.Per ESPN, it read, “Call me 911.”Since every NBA player knew what day it was, Wade knew something had happened. He had been traded.But, to whom?"So if you get a text like that and the trade deadline is coming up and you know the team that you're on is going to be very active, you know something is going down with you," Wade said, per ESPN. "And my mind went right to, 'No, it's not Miami. There's no way.' My mind went right to that because I felt like that's the only other place I can be.”It was. And Wade was overcome with relief."That was the best moment I've had in a long time," Wade admitted."I can't wait to get back to my environment," Wade exclaimed. "I can't wait to see the smile on my wife's face when she's sitting out tanning outside and all those things, and I can't wait for the drive to the arena that I can make with my eyes closed.”"I've missed them and I know they've missed me," he continued. "This is definitely a playoff team," Wade said. "This is a team that a lot of teams around the NBA respect because of the way that they play the game."The idea of returning to Miami had apparently been on Wade’s mind lately. When the Cavaliers recently squared off against the Heat, Wade expressed his desire to one day return home to Miami, per the Miami Herald. "I have thought about it of course,” said Wade, who spent the first 13 years of his career with the Heat before leaving for one season in Chicago and this season in Cleveland. “I wouldn’t lie and say I haven’t. When that opportunity comes, that day comes, hopefully, I can go out in a Miami Heat jersey. I don’t know how it will be but I would love it.”According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Cleveland wanted to “do right” by Wade once the team acquired Jordan Clarkson from the Los Angeles Lakers. Due to the existence of youngster Cedi Osman, Wade went from veteran reserve to someone who simply wouldn’t get playing time. Before the trade was initiated, Wade, Rose and LeBron James were all consulted and gave their blessing.Wade is returning home.But, he never should have left.

The face of the Heat

When you think of the Heat, you think of Wade. He’s the face of their franchise and might always be.

The official release put out by the organization announcing the trade proves why.

“The Miami HEAT announced today that they have acquired guard Dwyane Wade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for a protected 2024 second-round draft pick,” it read.

“We feel that Dwyane can help our team in so many ways,” said Heat President Pat Riley. “It is a beautiful moment for us, for the city and for the fans. All of us embrace it in the manner that we want to win and that’s why we brought Dwyane back home. We look forward to having a great end of season run as we fight for the playoffs.”

Take a look at the list of accomplishments that the official release contained.

“Wade, a three-time NBA Champion with the HEAT, played 12 seasons in Miami, appearing in 855 regular season games (845 starts) averaging 23.7 points, 5.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 1.65 steals and 35.7 minutes while shooting 48.8 percent from the field. The 12-time NBA All-Star is the HEAT’s all-time leader in points (20,221), field goals made (7,325), free throws made (5,185), double-figure scoring efforts (816), assists (4,944), steals (1,414), starts, games played and minutes played (30,560). He also ranks among the HEAT’s all-time leaders in blocks (2nd, 759), total rebounds (4th, 4,126), defensive rebounds (4th, 3,051), offensive rebounds (5th, 1,076), double-doubles (5th, 121), field goal percentage (7th, .488) and three-point field goals made (7th, 386). Additionally, Wade, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP, has appeared in 166 career postseason games (all starts) with the HEAT averaging 22.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.57 steals, 1.00 blocks and 38.4 minutes while shooting 47.7 percent from the field.”

Now back home, Wade most likely won’t return to a 30-plus minute role at this stage in his career, but will be a veteran leader on a 29-26 team that ranks seventh in the Eastern Conference as of Thursday night. Most of all, he will impart his wisdom and knowledge to the team’s younger players and will be able to leave the team on a positive note when the time is right for him to step away from the game. 

Heat players were ecstatic to hear the news. All-Star point guard Goran Dragic was especially excited.

So was center Hassan Whiteside.

He will most likely slot in as the team’s sixth man and will give Erik Spoelstra another viable option off the bench, something Miami desperately needed.

A mended relationship

According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, there had been a lot of tension between Wade and Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley ever since Wade left Miami, but the two recently made up at a recent funeral for Henry Thomas (Wade’s former agent). That event set up Wade’s return to the Heat and there’s the potential that he could even re-sign with the team in the summer since he will be an unrestricted free agent. 

"The hug that we embraced was real and it was all we needed," Wade said of the brief encounter with Riley at the funeral, per ESPN. "That's it. That's all we both needed. I walked away and I felt better about everything, without even getting into anything.”

Wade turned down a two-year, $40 million deal from the Heat two summers ago and took a two-year, $47 million deal with his hometown Chicago Bulls.

He called it an “emotional and tough” decision at the time, but clearly felt disrespected that he wasn’t offered a max deal after bringing three championships to the city in 13 seasons there. “This was not an easy decision, but I feel I have made the right choice for myself and my family,” he said at the time. 

Riley texed For The Win’s Charlotte Wilder the following after Wade left:

"SADDDDDDD!!!! SO saddddddd! I will never forget the sixth game in Dallas in 2006. DW rebounded the ball, and threw it to the heavens and the Heat universe was perfect for that moment. Our first world championship. Our universe is not perfect today. It will be fraught with anger, judgment, blame instead of THANK YOU!!! Ten years ago. Ten years older. Ten years wiser. Ten years changed. All of us. Dwyane had a choice, and he made it. He went home. Bad, bad summer for us. But there will be another 10 years, and it will be someone or something else in 2026. Move on with no blood or tears. Just thanks. I truly loved Dwyane, but families grow, change and get on with another life. He will always be a part of us. ALWAYS! And no more bruises and enough fighting. Let's just fly above it if we can and never forget. I feel his pain and pride for what pushed him over the ledge. Been there. Forever, for always, your coach I will be. FOREVER!”

Miami Heat owner Micky Arison was quick to publicly thank Wade for all he brought to the organization.

Wade published an open letter right after he made up his mind to leave, thanking everyone for his time in Miami.

“I want to express my gratitude to the Arison family, Pat Riley, Coach Erik Spoelstra, the coaching staff, and the entire Miami Heat organization,” Wade wrote. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the Miami community and especially #HEATNATION for all of their love and support over the years. It has been truly incredible," he wrote.

Despite the fact that Wade and Riley couldn’t come to terms with an extension offer, Wade’s respect for Riley never seemed to waver, even though he was disappointed.

"There's going to be a lot of stuff that's said about me and Pat," Wade said via the Sun Sentinel in July of 2016 . "First and foremost, I love Pat Riley. He's been someone who has been a figurehead in my life since I got drafted here at 21. But at the same time, 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 it sucks.” 

"Because you love somebody so well, you guys love each other, but the business side comes out," Wade explained. "You know? And we have to deal with that. I'm not saying we've hugged and cried and shared tears at this moment. But I love Pat and I will always love Pat. And I know he feels the same way about me."

In November of 2016, Riley admitted to TNT’s David Aldridge that he should have offered Wade a two-year max deal to keep him in Miami.

"Riley told me before the game that, if he had to do it over again, in the summer of 2014, after LeBron James left and went back to Cleveland, we should have given Wade a max deal as well as Chris Bosh, as the team did," Aldridge said in a sideline report. “Riley told me, 'That was wrong. I should have, we should have given him that. That's a big second-guess, but that's on me.’"

After one season in Chicago, he got bought out of his deal and ended up joining the Cavaliers at the beginning of this campaign. The Heat were the leaders to sign him along with the Cavs and Spurs, but he elected to team up with his buddy LeBron.

Before that decision while his buyout was being negotiated, Riley made it clear that he still had love for Wade.

"I feel great about our relationship that we had over the 13 years," Riley said before this season. "And anything that happens from a personnel standpoint down the road, or any opportunities that are there, we're always going to approach that.”

Now back in Miami, Riley is overjoyed and so is Wade. In effect, one of the most successful tandems in recent NBA history is reunited.

"For all of you who know me, warriors don't live in the past," Riley told reporters. "Life is now. And the future is waiting. Based on what happened with Dwyane and us the last couple of years, there's no bitterness and no regrets. We've always talked about that. Micky (Arison) is very pro Dwyane. Coach (Erik Spoelstra) is very pro Dwyane. I am. It was a sad day when Dwyane left and it's a beautiful day that he's back.”

Although the future is always uncertain, it's safe to assume that Wade will never suit up for another team for the rest of his career.