Dwyane Wade is a member of the Miami Heat again, and merchandise sales are accordingly through the roof. The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Wade to the Heat mostly for his own benefit, out of kindness. After all, they really didn’t get anything of value in return (a protected second-round pick six years from now is about as minuscule a return as a team can get).

Wade spoke with ESPN about his excitement at the prospect of re-joining the Heat and how the trade came about. If you recall, Wade and Heat President Pat Riley didn’t leave things on a good note when Wade left Miami last time. The two recently reconnected at the funeral of Wade’s former agent, Henry Thomas, who passed away in late January:

At Thomas’ funeral in Chicago, fences were mended. Wade and Heat president Pat Riley, whose relationship would best be described as strained since Wade left for Chicago in the summer of 2016, hugged. Simple as it sounds, that’s all Wade needed to be convinced that his plan to return to Miami one day would become reality.

…

“The hug that we embraced was real and it was all we needed,” Wade said of the brief encounter with Riley at the funeral. “That’s it. That’s all we both needed. I walked away and I felt better about everything, without even getting into anything.”

Riley too is letting bygones be bygones and said that it’s a “beautiful day,” with Wade coming back.

Wade talked about his surprise at being traded. He was alerted to the trade when Leon Rose, his agent, texted him: “Call me 911.”

After receiving that text, Wade knew he was going to be traded, but didn’t know to where. He was ecstatic to learn he was heading back to Miami and said: “That was the best moment I’ve had in a long time.”

Wade shared his glee via Twitter:

?????? pic.twitter.com/2Gkgj01s15

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) February 9, 2018

The post Dwyane Wade Talks Reconciliation With Pat Riley, Unexpected Trade to Heat appeared first on Def Pen.