Gilbert Arenas reveals when he nearly signed with the Miami Heat
On a recent episode of “The OGs” podcast, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller hosted former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, who shared his thoughts on various topics, including a humorous story involving Dwyane Wade. Arenas recounted how he once called Wade at his hotel to apologize for trash-talking him before a game.
Following a tough experience at the 2004 Olympics, Arenas believed that Wade and the Miami Heat wouldn’t pose a significant threat in the Eastern Conference.
“As we headed into the 2004-05 season, everyone was talking about the Heat and how Shaq had joined them,” Arenas explained. “I thought, ‘We’ll just handle D-Wade like they did at the Olympics, by playing a zone.’
“But then, I saw him dropping 40, 45 points in multiple games. I started wondering if he had circled our matchup on the calendar.
“I made sure to call Wade to clear up any rumors. I reached out to his hotel and said, ‘Hey Dwyane, just so you know, that trash talk from a couple of weeks ago was misconstrued. I didn’t mean it like that.’ After that, I never trash-talked another player again.”
Arenas humorously reflected on how Wade “kept receipts,” with Wade’s teams frequently getting the better of him, leading Arenas to a 3-16 record against the Heat for the remainder of his career.
Arenas also revealed that he nearly joined the Miami Heat in 2003, but Pat Riley hesitated to offer him a $55 million contract. Arenas recalled, “I was a free agent in 2003, right behind Lamar Odom. Riley was interested in pairing me with Wade in the backcourt. But Riley wasn’t comfortable paying a young player like me that kind of money because I had only played about 100 games in my first two years.”
Ultimately, Riley’s decision changed the course of history, leaving Heat fans to wonder what might have been if Arenas had teamed up with Wade and Haslem in Miami.
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