Dwyane Wade talks Jimmy Butler, Pat Riley and more: ‘The culture is what the Heat stands on'

Miami Herald

16-04-2025

As the Miami Heat begins the postseason with hopes of making the playoffs through the NBA's relatively new play-in tournament, retired Heat icon Dwyane Wade began raising awareness for an auction that will benefit his non-profit organization Social Change Fund United.
A lot has changed since the Heat last missed the playoffs in Wade's final NBA season in 2018-19.
But in order to make the playoffs for the sixth straight season, the Eastern Conference's 10th-place Heat will need to win two straight road games in the play-in tournament this week. The first victory needs to come Wednesday night against the East's ninth-place Chicago Bulls at United Center.
The winner of Tuesday's contest between the Heat and Bulls will travel to take on the East's eighth-place Atlanta Hawks on Friday at State Farm Arena (7 p.m., TNT). A loss on either Wednesday or Friday would end the Heat's season.
The winner of Friday's contest in Atlanta will qualify for the playoffs as the East's eighth seed and open the first round of the playoffs against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on Sunday at 7 p.m. on TNT.
As for Wade, he teamed up with RealTruck recently to create a one-of-a-kind 'Champions Edition' Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup truck that will go up for auction at Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in West Palm Beach on April 25. The entirety of the winning bid will benefit Social Change Fund United, which is a non-profit that Wade co-founded with Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul that's dedicated to making an impact in underrepresented communities of color.
'One thing in the Social Change Fund with Melo, CP and myself, we look for opportunities throughout the year for partnerships to be able to get behind the fund that we have in social change,' Wade said. 'So this is a cool opportunity that came to me. What made me excited about it is, obviously, the ability to auction something off to raise money for the Social Change Fund.'
Those interested in bidding on the truck can visit the Barrett-Jackson Auction Company in West Palm Beach on April 25 or visit the Barrett-Jackson auction site.
Here's more from the Miami Herald's recent conversation with Wade ...
When you look at the breakup between the Heat and Jimmy Butler this season, where do you believe the blame lies? And how tough was that to watch unfold?
Wade: 'Well, the one thing I've realized is don't go around planting blame on somebody when you really don't know what's going on. I wasn't in the room where it happened, so I don't know and I'm not into pointing fingers necessarily. … What I don't like more than anything is just the stain it puts on our franchise. We have one of the greatest franchises for the last 20, 30 years that's in professional sports. We don't want the conversation to be about that, we want it to be about the success that we've had and how we've created that success. So it was a very unfortunate time.
'You understand that relationships come to an end. A six-year relationship is a long time for a lot of people. So it's OK that their relationship needed to come to an end. It's just sometimes it doesn't always have to be so nasty or ugly.
'I just wanted to make sure that I voiced my opinion. I knew there was smoke. I think I was very clear with my message when I had the time to speak during my statue moment. That was a moment that was about me and I took the moment to talk to the team, and tell them who Pat Riley is and who this organization is. And I knew if everything did not get on the right line, some [stuff] was going to go down. I felt that at that time and that's why I said that message. Everybody wasn't in attendance, but the message went out loud. I had a feeling because I knew enough and obviously I have relationships. Ultimately, the relationship needed to end, which it did. It's just sometimes there has to be a better way that we can handle things, whether it's the player or whether it's our front office. We just got to do a better job because this is a part of our history.'
How do you feel Heat president Pat Riley has adapted his management style over the years?
Wade: 'I think every generation that he's been a coach in, he's had to adapt. I don't think he's ever lost his true identity and that is something that you don't want him to lose. I've talked about that very candidly. Yeah, there are some things that you look at it and you say, OK, there's a little micromanaging going on. Micromanaging sometimes it feels petty. So if you're petty and I'm petty, then we're going to get petty. But I think along his time, he's tinkered from the Lakers to New York and to Miami and the different generations in Miami. I definitely saw a different Pat from Day 1 when I walked in to the last day I was there. So there have definitely been adjustments, but he has not and the organization has not lost their true identity overall when it comes to how it's run and what the culture looks like.
'So I think Pat has done as good of a job as anybody can to be in that position for so long and go through so many generations. Yeah, we all know he's old. But he's still sharp as a tool, at the same time. He's one of the sharpest men that you will sit down and talk to. So he's very, very good at his job. But also, too, like all of us, he has ways that he wants to see things run and see things done and he's going to do it that way. But also, too, he's going to make some adjustments. I think they made a lot of adjustments when Jimmy came, which [LeBron James] didn't experience and I didn't experience. The same thing with Tim [Hardaway] and [Alonzo Mourning], we experienced something that they didn't experience.
'What I like to say is you have to stand on something. And the culture is what the Heat stands on. It doesn't matter whether you feel like the word culture has been overused or not. But every organization doesn't have it. They don't have rules, they don't have templates, you don't know what to do necessarily, you just do. When you come to Miami, you know what's expected of you, you know what to do, you know what accountability looks like. So no matter what players and no matter what generation, as long as Pat Riley is a part of it, you're going to have accountability in some instance. It's not for everybody, as we always say. Miami isn't for everybody. It was for Jimmy for six years, it was me for 14 until I left and came back, so forward and so on. But I definitely know that everybody who I've talked to who has been a part of this organization, when they talk about moments in their life that have been impactful, Miami is a part of that impactfulness of each player who has come through, whether we liked it or not. So at the end of the day, like I said, I love my people in Miami, But also, too, they're hard. This [stuff] ain't easy, at the same time. But when you walk away with championships like we did, you understand that winning ain't easy and it comes with uncomfortable things and uncomfortable moments.'
How do you feel the Heat's leading duo of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro have handled the adversity this season following the trade of Butler?
Wade: 'I love this season for those guys. I think it's been one of the hardest seasons, especially for Bam. Tyler has been through a lot when it comes to injuries, but he had a bright spot this year by making the All-Star Game and having that success. But then the Jimmy stuff, it kind of took a little energy out of the team and it took them a while to bounce back and find their true identity. Jimmy Butler has been one of the main identities for the last six years, so it takes time. My conversations with Bam, and this is what [Erik Spoelstra] says all the time, don't let go of the [expletive] rope. Don't let go of it. That's my conversation with Bam as a leader. It doesn't matter what's going on or what you ain't got, don't let go of the rope. Don't allow your teammates see you do it or feel like they can. Run through the tape, bro.'