Dwyane Wade: “It Was Unfair Some Of The Stuff That We Had To Endure”

When the Miami Heat got together last offseason, immediately they became the target in the NBA. Not only did they have the bulls-eye on their back because they had three All-Stars on one team, including two of the games top five players, but they also celebrated with a laser-show on stage  before a game had even been played. Then if that wasn’t bad enough they started talking about championships. Plural. And again before any game had been played. After an up-and-down season, Miami still steamrolled through the Eastern Conference before squandering a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. As the offseason continues to be in lockout mode, the team that might be itching to get this thing figured out more than anybody else is the Heatles. With this offseason going the way it has it just means the sour taste of losing will stay in their mouths.

Dwyane Wade joined ESPN 540 in Milwaukee with Homer to talk about the comments he made following the Finals loss about everybody being happy the Miami Heat lost, how tough this season was, what he knows about LeBron James that other people don’t, and the idea of players going overseas to play during the lockout.

On the comments he made following the Finals loss about everybody being happy the Miami Heat lost:

“At that point it was me. Obviously we went through a lot last year. It was unfair some of the stuff that we had to endure but we grew from it. That’s over with. We move on to whenever we play basketball again and we will be a different team.”

How tough the season was:

“It was tough. I’ve went through tougher things because at the end of the day it’s the game of basketball. You find the joy in it and at the end of the day we had a good team. We played in hostile environments which we love as competitors. We love to hush everybody up and we were able to accomplish that all the way to the end of the year when we didn’t win. Then they became right again. At the end of the day that’s not what you play the game for. You play the game because you love it and enjoy doing it.”

What he knows about LeBron that other people don’t:

“I don’t know man. LeBron is one of my best friends. A lot of the things in life we have similar from an upbringing and some of our beliefs. He’s human. He makes mistakes like all of us, like every other human being, and he’s going to do a lot of great things as well. I don’t know anything that no one doesn’t know. He’s a big kid man. He’s giddy, he’s goofy, but at the end of the day he’s a great teammate. He’s one of those guys that will bring everybody on the bus coffee in the morning, he’s one of those teammates.”

Whether or not players are going to go overseas to play during the lockout:

“Obviously some players are gonna play. Who knows who all gonna play? Some players are gonna play. You risk getting hurt when you work out or when you play open gym. Every time you play the game and every time you’re on the basketball court you risk getting hurt. You can’t approach the game that way. At the end of the day you play because you love it and also this is the way we live, this the way our families live as well. If it’s a year lockout you’ve got a lot of guys not getting paid all season and have to find a way to make sure that they are the means to their family and find work. If it’s going overseas to play then it’s going overseas to play for some guys.”