The Denver Nuggets have a two-year contract on the table for Dwyane Wade worth more than $50 million as he continues to consider his free agency options this summer, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. The Nuggets' offer exceeds Miami's by more than $10 million, with the Heat's reported offer being a two-year deal worth $40 million.
Denver tops Miami’s $40 million offer to Dwyane Wade with a $50 million offer
Wade will likely stay in Miami, but it seems he’ll have to leave money on the table to do that.
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Wade will meet with the Nuggets on Wednesday in New York, per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wade is still expected to end up in Miami, but he has made it clear that he’s disgruntled. The Miami lifer has taken discounts on his last two contracts to facilitate the Heat’s free agency moves and was offended when the team initially offered him just $10 million annually at the start of the month.
The Nuggets are one of two teams to aggressively pursue Wade this offseason along with the Chicago Bulls, but it appears Denver's offer is the one Wade is considering. With Hassan Whiteside signing a $22 million max contract on the opening day of free agency and Chris Bosh's undetermined status leaving another $22 million still on the books, Miami's financial situation is a difficult one.
Denver would be thrilled to have two years of Wade, who could help elevate a young team into the playoffs without any long-term commitments to him. They wouldn’t be a title contender, but Miami probably won’t be, either, so maybe Wade doesn’t have anything to lose.
What Wade really wants is for Miami to offer him more than $50 million over two years, but that may just not be feasible. That's why Denver's standing offer is tempting, and why these rumors will persist until Wade announces his decision. In what would be peak NBA free agency, Wade is co-hosting Kelly Ripa's show on Thursday. It's entirely possible that Wade will give his decision then, which would be wonderful.
If Wade does leave, it would be shocking. But this free agency has been nothing but shocking, after all.
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