LOS ANGELES – The L.A. Clippers fell to the Miami Heat on Saturday night, a game in which Miami had only eight players available to play due to an overwhelming amount of injuries. Heat star Dwyane Wade led his team to the upset victory with 25 points, six rebounds, and six assists in 32 minutes off the bench.
After the game, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was asked to reflect about the life and career of the future Heat legend in Wade. In the process of answering, Rivers also dropped a major, never-before-heard tidbit about a potential deal the Orlando Magic and Heat had back on June 26, 2003.
“We had a trade for [Wade] on Draft Day,” revealed Rivers to ClutchPoints postgame, who was coaching the Magic at the time. “We thought we were going to get Dwyane [Wade]. We had a deal with Miami that if they didn't get their guy, we were gonna flip [picks]. When it got to their pick, we thought they were about to call us and tell us let's do the trade. Instead they said ‘we have our guy.' we were crushed.”
#Clippers coach Doc Rivers said that the Orlando #Magic and Miami #Heat had discussed a 2003 draft-day trade that if Miami didn’t get the guy they wanted at the No. 5 pick, they would trade it for the guy they did. Doc was hoping to draft Dwyane Wade (@DwyaneWade). pic.twitter.com/ermUp8Mn0B
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 9, 2018
The Heat had the fifth overall pick in the draft while the Magic held the 15th pick. The complete details of the potential deal are unclear, but it would've made for a very interesting, league-changing trade.
Wade would've been on the Magic, but would Tracy McGrady have been a part of the deal or would they have been teammates? Does Shaquille O'Neal leave the Lakers for the Heat, ending the L.A.'s dynasty? How does that then affect both LeBron James and Chris Bosh's decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors, respectively, in free agency?
We'll never know for sure, but this could certainly go down as one of the NBA's biggest ‘What if's.'
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