Dwyane Wade's desire to secure a fourth championship was a huge reason behind his decision to join the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The shooting guard signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Eastern Conference champions in a bid to win another ring with LeBron James.

The duo are reunited once again after spending four successful seasons together with the Miami Heat where they won two titles.

Wade had options to join the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and the Heat but opted to take his talents to Ohio.

His former Miami teammates Hassan Whiteside and Udonis Haslem were lobbying for his return to South Beach, but their efforts to lure him back proved fruitless.

Haslem is now looking forward to the first meeting between the Heat and Cavs next season as he'll have a special greeting in store for D.Wade.

"I will put my special request in with (Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra) for minutes in that game," Haslem joked, speaking to the Miami Herald.

"I definitely got six fouls - probably three on each (Wade and LeBron James) and a flagrant for Wade."

The 37-year-old is now a bit-part player for the team and averaged just eight minutes on the court last year which will make it unlikely that he faces his good friends in Cleveland.

The Florida-based franchise was able to offer Wade the most money with their $4.3m exception, but his mind was set on going to the Cavs.

Despite wanting to play alongside the 12-time All-Star again, Haslem accepts that it may have been difficult for him to earn a spot on the team and fit into a team that's looking to build around a young core.

"He's not chasing rings. He's got three rings," Haslem said. "For him, this situation, it comes down to a lot of things. We have a lot of depth here. I don't know if there's as many minutes as he would like.

"We got a lot of young guys. We got guys that got to play. (Josh Richardson) has got to play. Justise (Winslow) has got to play. Dion (Waiters) got to play. There's a lot of bodies at that spot.

"At the end of the day, nothing changes for what we have in mind for our plans and what our goals are as an organisation. That doesn't change anything and I don't take it personal at all. Dwyane has to do what he feels is best for Dwyane.

"Would I love to have him here? Would I love to play with him here? Yes. But nothing changes with (his) and my relationship. He's always going to be my brother and our goals here are just the same."