Dwayne Wade Might Be Left with Egg on His Face

Dwayne Wade made a selfless decision last week fueled by narcissism, and it might cost him millions of dollars.

Wade, who was owed over $41million the next two seasons by the Miami Heat, opted out of his contract, along with Chris Bosh and LeBron James.

The theory was sound.

All three players would restructure their deals, allowing the Heat to re-tool the roster and compete for a few more championships.

Wade might have overlooked one thing, however: Lebron James might have seen what most of us saw during that five-game beatdown the Spurs gave the Heat during last month's NBA Finals. This Heat roster needed a lot of re-tooling, and surrounding the two-and-a-half stars with a championship-caliber supporting cast wasn't a sure thing.

Wade was trading money for the chance to win, except he couldn't see the fact that his being on the Heat decreases James' chances for another title. Wade is 32 going on 52. His Win Shares have dropped every season since 2008-09, from 14.3 to 5.5. His Player Efficiency Rating (PER) has taken a similar dive in that span, from 30.4 to 22.

His defense has -- somehow -- gotten worse as well.

On Sunday night, the Twitterverse was buzzing with rumors -- started by ESPN's Chris Broussard -- that James might be heading back to Cleveland. Free agent musings often have the same validity as recruiting stories, which is to say, not that much. But the idea of Wade thinking he was better than he is and getting burned for it is funny to imagine.

Wade wasn't going to get anything near $41million over the next two years on the open market, and he won't get anything near that much from the Heat if he re-signs. It's hard to imagine him opting out if he didn't have a great feeling LeBron was returning. 

Maybe it's karma. Or the basketball gods not approving of his dirty play and flopping.

My typing this, however, probably means all three players return to Miami on the cheap, win the next three titles, and Wade rides into the sunset with six rings on his way to the Hall of Fame.

But if those basketball gods exist, Wade might return to Miami on the cheap with Shabbazz Napier, Mike Miller, and Justin Hamilton by his side while LeBron chases a title back home.