Erik Spoelstra has been elated with his reunion with longtime franchise star Dwyane Wade, but he is not thinking about putting him back in his past role just yet.
Wade spent 13 NBA seasons as the face of the Miami Heat, his iconic No. 3 in murals across South Beach and plastered around the home tunnels of the arena.
But Spoelstra won't commit to inserting him into the starting lineup just yet.
“Not right now; I’m not thinking of that,” Spoelstra said after the team’s shootaround at Air Canada Centre, prior to Tuesday’s game against the Raptors, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “But I’m always open to anything, wherever the course of this season goes.”
Spoelstra is liking what Wade has been able to bring coming off the bench, a role he started assuming under head coach Tyronn Lue in Cleveland.
“You’re bringing a Hall of Fame talent off the bench that really helps your depth and your dynamic,” Spoelstra said. “He brings a standard of excellence, a standard of success. It brings confidence out of everybody.”
While Wade has embraced the role, he notes the responsibilities are different coming off the bench than being a member of the starting lineup.
“Starting you got to know this is what they expect of me,” he said. “Coming off the bench it definitely varies. Depending on if I’m coming off the bench and I’m handling it, if I’m coming off the bench and I’m at the two, whatever the case may be, you never know what it is.
Wade put up three points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks during a 22-minute debut against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.
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