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When you think of controversial NBA figures, Dwyane Wade isn't exactly the first name that comes to mind. The Miami Heat legend has by all accounts been a model teammate and veteran in the locker room through the years. But he recently revealed an incident during his stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers that he'd like to have back.
Wade reportedly had beef with All-Star Kevin Love while on the Cavs, as the big man was attending to an illness while the team was going through a rough patch. Joe Vardon of the Athletic detailed the friction at the time:
As things started heading south for the Cavs in January, Wade was an instigator in the infamous team meeting Jan. 22, hours before they flew to San Antonio.
Yes, Thomas was upset that Kevin Love went home with an illness before a 24-point loss to Oklahoma City had concluded on Jan. 20, and that he was not at practice the following day.
But, sources said, it was Wade who first made an issue of it at Cavs practice Monday, challenging Lue to disclose where Love had been. Numerous players verbally attacked Love, who eventually explained his absence to the team as part of a wide-ranging, heated discussion in which virtually no one was immune from criticism.
Dwyane Wade recently appeared on the What's in Your Glass? podcast hosted by Carmelo Anthony. The 3-time NBA champion opened up about the Cavs incident with Kevin Love years after it went down. After having plenty of time to think about it, his perspective has definitely changed.
“I had an incident in Cleveland with Kevin Love where I didn't know that he dealt with or suffered from any mental health issues. I was on him, because I'm an old dude trying to—this is my last ride to win a championship, and I didn't know what he was dealing with mentally. So we had a very ugly incident as a team that happened that came out in the papers and all those things about it, and then once I left Cleveland, Kevin became more outspoken and became really a voice for mental health. And I didn't have any idea.”
DWade then revealed that he wants nothing more than to have the opportunity to apologize to the Cavs star. Any lingering animosity is valid in his eyes, but he'd relish the chance to bury the hatchet.
“Kevin Love may not like me as a person because of that moment, but if I ever got the opportunity to see him again, I'd just want to apologize to him because I didn’t know what he was dealing with, and I was just trying to say, ‘We need you, we need you,' but I didn't know that he was dealing with something that was so serious that I could not fathom or even know what he had to deal with.”
