Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat have agreed to a new deal to keep the 11-year veteran in South Beach.
Wade is reportedly inking a two-year, $34million (Dh124m) contract, which includes a player option for him to become a free agent after next season.
It would be nearly a $4mn(Dh14.6m) annual pay cut after he exercised his early termination option to forego the final two years of his previous deal, worth $42 million. He announced he was staying in Miami on Twitter last night.
“Home Is Where The Heart Is… My Home, My City, My House,” wrote Wade.
The 10-time All-Star has spent his entire career with Miami after being drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Last season, Wade played in just 54 games with the Heat choosing to rest him as he battled knee injuries.
He averaged 19 points per game, the second lowest scoring campaign of his career and the first time since his rookie season in which he didn’t reach the 20-point mark.
After falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals, Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James all opted out of their deals, creating a large amount of cap space for the Heat to restructure contracts and potentially add players.
James, however, chose to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers while Bosh accepted a five-year, $118mn (Dh433m) contract to continue playing in Miami.
Despite losing out on James, the Heat have remained aggressive in retaining much of last year’s squad by also re-signing Chris Andersen and Mario Chalmers.
Miami added Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger with the hope of bolstering their roster prior to James’ announcement, but have since moved to get an agreement from small forward Luol Deng to try to replace some of James’ production.
Wade, along with Bosh, will look to keep the Heat competitive after playing in four-straight Finals and winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
As the lead man, Wade led Miami to a title in 2006, but is past the prime of his career at 32.
