Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade unclear about future

Dwyane Wade isn't sold on a South Florida future yet, and with less than a week remaining before he is eligible to sign an extension, the Miami Heat guard appreciates the anxiety that is creating.

"It's going to be a touchy time," Wade acknowledged Monday.

So touchy, that even as he promotes his charitable work during the week's worth of events that culminate with Sunday's Summer Groove all-star game at AmericanAirlines Arena, the subject continually returns to whether he will extend this summer or become a free agent next July.

"This is where I want to be," he said during a radio interview on WQAM. "But I'm a winner and I want to make sure the future of me and of where I play, we're going to win."

While last season's NBA scoring leader cannot sign an extension until Sunday, which is the three-year anniversary of his previous extension, the negotiating window already is open, and has been for a while. Wade, however, did not make it sound as if substantive talks are under way with Heat President Pat Riley.

"I have to look at it from a business decision and see what's best for myself and see what's best for the future," he said. "We're talking. I'm sure Coach Riley will call us one minute after the time he can and we'll go from there."

Making the media rounds the past few days, Wade, on 790-The Ticket, addressed personnel gains made by the Heat's Eastern Conference competitors, such as the Orlando Magic adding Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors adding Hedo Turkoglu.

"Well there is a lot going on and there are a lot of teams that are shaking a lot of things up, and these are teams that feel that they need to do it now," he said. "Some teams feel that they need to win championships now, and you have to respect what they're doing."

Wade indicated he has not pushed Riley to make moves.

"He just said what he wanted and I said what I wanted," Wade said. "And you can respect that from both sides. I want to win, and he wants to win. And he wants me to be here to win."

Wade said he retains faith that Riley will position him for success.

"One thing I've come to realize is that Miami can never count out Pat Riley," he said. "You never know what he can cook up in the lab. So we're going to be patient and I'm not going to worry about it. I'm going to let him do his job."

Wade, though, did acknowledge that it has been difficult being on a team that so far has been a free-agency bystander.

"I'm patient at certain times," he said, "and at certain times I'm not."

For Wade, victory in the personnel game can come either by recruiting players this summer, or by convincing them to wait until the 2010 offseason, when the Heat has the salary-cap space to commit to both Wade and an overhaul.

"I understand that Coach Riley does have a hard job," he said. "But I have job, as well, to go out there and try to sell people to come down here and maybe take a little less or wait." Source: SunSentinel.com