Dwayne Wade opted out of his contract with the Miami Heat on Monday.
Wade was scheduled to make $16.1 million next season. It is believed that he is looking for a deal that would average at least $16 million over three season, and left about $27 million on the table, according to ESPN. The Heat would have like for Wade to stay and work on a new contract after next season so that they would have salary cap flexibility going into the 2016 free-agency period. Wade will automatically become a free agent on Wednesday.
''Obviously, our team went through a lot of bizarre stuff throughout this year but I thought individually, what I was able to do in 30, 31 minutes, I thought I was as efficient as I could be,'' Wade said after this past season. ''I always think I can do better, but what I was able to accomplish ... I thought was pretty good individually.''
Wade had been with the Heat for his entire 12 year career. This past season he averaged 21.5 points, which was third-best in the Eastern Conference and 11th-best in the NBA, according to the Associated Press. He has been an All-Star in 11 of his 12 seasons and won three championships with the Heat.
Heat forward Luol Deng used his $10.1 million option with the team on Monday.