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Wade re-signs with Heat; Heat joins LaMarcus Aldridge pursuit

Dwyane Wade's new contract with the Heat is done. The Associated Press reported the deal is for one year and $20 million, which I have confirmed with someone involved.

A Wade associate said Wade did not take a one-year deal with the intention of leaving next summer. He wants to remain with the Heat longterm and is of the mindset to work with them, as he has in the past.

As we noted in our post last night, Wade had been talking to the Heat about two scenarios: a one-year deal at close to the $23 million maximum and a multiyear deal at a lower rate. Wade chose the first option.

As we noted last night, the Heat had been telling people in the past two days that Wade re-signing was not in question.

Wade's full statement: “It has been an honor and privilege to play with the Miami HEAT the past twelve years. The HEAT family and I have shared incredible moments over the years and I look forward to continuing our journey. I am extremely proud of my personal contributions in helping to build the HEAT franchise and for bringing three NBA championship wins to our great city. For my entire NBA career, Miami has always been my city and my home. I’m overwhelmed with the love and support the Miami community have consistently shown me and my family throughout the years.”

Agent Henry Thomas' statement: “This contract is a win-win for both Dwyane and the HEAT. Not only does Dwyane get to extend his Hall of Fame-worthy career with the only franchise for whom he has ever played, but he will have the flexibility next summer to sign an additional deal. And the HEAT gets to keep their franchise cornerstone while having the ability to build a championship-contending roster.”

Wade opted out of a contract that would pay him $16 million this season. Thomas said earlier this offseason that Wade preferred a long-term deal for the security. But Wade ultimately decided to take a substantial one-year payout.

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Even without any cap space, the Heat has joined a list of teams pursuing Portland Trail Blazers free agent power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.

As Yahoo! first reported, Pat Riley will meet with Aldridge in Los Angeles. Aldridge and Riley will have dinner tonight, ESPN reported.

The Heat has been telling people that it fully expects Dwyane Wade will re-sign. But even if Wade surprisingly left, the Heat still would not have any cap space --- let alone the space for a max offer for Aldridge --- without considerable salary purging.

Signing Aldridge realistically would be possible only with a sign-and-trade with Portland.

Such a deal hypothetically could include Chris Bosh or Wade (which seems HIGHLY doubtful in both cases). More likely, if Aldridge decides he wants to play for the Heat, Riley could try to entice Portland with a package including some combination of Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts, Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen and possibly Hassan Whiteside.

If he resigns with Portland for purposes of a sign and trade, Aldridge can make $109 million over five years. He could sign for no more than four years and $86 million with another team, without a sign-and-trade.

Two things to keep in mind with a sign-and-trade: A team receiving a player in such a trade cannot be above the tax apron ($4 million above the tax threshold) after the trade. This is do-able for Miami but will require more brilliance from Andy Elisburg, the Heat's sharp GM.

Also, a team receiving a player in a sign-and-trade cannot have used its taxpayer's midlevel exception yet (one reason for Miami to hold off).

A four-time All-Star, Aldridge averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds for Portland last season.

Whiteside will be a free agent next summer and the Heat will need to fit him under the projected $89 million salary cap if he signs for anything more than the league's average salary. That's because Whiteside won't have full Bird rights.

There would be roster duplication at the power positions with Whiteside, Bosh and Aldridge. So trading Whiteside cannot be ruled out in such a scenario. Aldridge doesn't want to play center, but Bosh has been a good sport about doing it when asked over the past five years.

San Antonio and Phoenix are reportedly the top contenders for Aldridge. The Suns sent three players to Detroit today in an attempt to clear salary cap space to sign Aldridge. Besides those teams, Aldridge also has met with Houston, Dallas and Toronto.

The Lakers are having a second meeting with him today. Aldridge canceled his meeting with the Knicks, according to multiple reports.

A Portland assistant coach said at a clinic this week that Aldridge has decided not to return to the Trail Blazers.

Without a sign and trade, there is no way to carve out space to make Aldridge a competitive offer as long as Wade, Goran Dragic and Bosh are on the roster.

Check back later today for a lot more Heat news... Twitter: @flasportsbuzz

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