Getty Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul
Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul never played a minute together in the NBA. However, it appears they once had a chance back when they both played. Paul and Wade discussed how they had discussed joining forces with the Miami Heat. However, a jersey debacle nixed it.
Paul and Wade discussed the debacle on Wade’s YouTube Channel. This is how Wade recalled the situation.
“We talk about all this — who gonna have the ball, we can all play together, CP, I can play off the ball — we figured all that out. Then somebody said, ‘Well, who gonna wear No. 3?’ Silence. Messed the whole trade up because CP couldn’t wear No. 3 in Miami.”
The two then recalled how the conversation ended any possibility of the two playing together. Paul suggested that Wade wear No. 33, to which Wade responded, “No, no, no. See, this is the conversation we’re having, and I’m like, ‘That’s my number.’ He’s like, ‘Well, that’s my number.'”
Neither side brought up which year this happened, but it likely took place between 2010 and 2014 when Lebron James played for the Heat. It likely happened either when Paul demanded a trade from New Orleans in 2011 or
Gilbert Arenas Claims Heat Considered Trading LeBron James
Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas claimed that it wasn’t a jersey debacle with Dwyane Wade that nixed Chris Paul’s trade to Miami. Furthermore, he claimed that the Heat had discussed trading LeBron James to New Orleans.
wait… Gil says Miami almost traded Bron for Chris Paul??? 😳 @ShannonSharpe @GilsArenaShow
“Let’s rewind back to 2010-11 when they lost to Dallas. What was the reason they lost to Dallas? … (Because) who played bad? Who didn’t fit well with the other two? So yeah, Miami was thinking about trading, and it wasn’t (Chris) Bosh at that time. Because, you know, right then, it was who’s fighting over power?” Arenas said on Nightcap, per the show’s X account.
James did not perform up to standards when the Heat lost to the Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. In six games, James averaged 17.8 points while shooting 47.8% from the field and 32.1% from three.
Paul requested a trade from New Orleans the following season. Following a rescinded trade to the Lakers, Paul found himself on the Clippers.
Players Would Take Paul Pierce Over Dwyane Wade
On the February 22 episode of “The Dan Le Batard Show,” Amin Elhsassan told Paul Pierce that some NBA players told him that they would take him over Dwyane Wade.
“Dan, I’ma say this about Paul. Paul, I said this: when you said Dwyane Wade, you made your comparison to Dwyane Wade’s career, everyone went crazy. I said, ‘What Paul said is something that a lot of NBA players think.’ And I’m not even agreeing with you, to be honest, but I understood what you were saying was from the heart and the truth because I know there are a lot of players who think that but aren’t brave enough to say it out loud.”
Paul Pierce has claimed in the past that he had a better career than Wade. He cited that Wade played with LeBron and Shaquille O’Neal when they were in their primes. While Pierce played with Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, he said they joined forces just as they were falling out of their prime.