Wade, Bosh, James Nearly Joined by Chris Paul in Miami

Highlights

• The Miami Heat almost added Chris Paul to their star-studded lineup in 2011.
• Dwayne Wade refused to give up his jersey number, leading to the trade not happening.
• Adding Paul to the team may have bolstered the Heat’s dominance, relieving pressure from Wade.

The Miami Heat were undoubtedly one of the most talented teams in the NBA in 2011. Boasting perennial All-Star guard Dwyane Wade and having recently added fellow All-NBA talents LeBron James and Chris Bosh, it was no surprise when the Heat were able to coast to the NBA Finals, despite a surprising loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

After that crushing defeat, the Heat nearly reloaded for another title run in a big way. While the tale of Chris Paul almost joining Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers is a well-known story at this point, Wade recently shared on his podcast, The Why with Dwyane Wade, that Miami nearly made the move for Paul before the point guard was ultimately shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The reason for Miami abstaining in the end? Wade refused to give up his jersey number, and “CP3” couldn’t get on board with the idea of changing his number, either.

“We talk about all of this, who gonna have the ball, how we’re all going to play together, no CP can have the ball. We done figured all that out, and then somebody said, ‘Well who going to wear number three?’ Silence. Messed the whole trade up”-Dwayne Wade

Miami Almost Added Another Star to Their Core

Paul may have helped bring even more championships to South Beach.

While Wade, Bosh, and especially James were dominant enough to lead the Heat to four straight NBA Finals appearances, the team wasn’t exactly loaded at point guard.

Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole absorbed most of the minutes at the position as playmaking duties were mostly relegated to Wade and James. With mostly sub-par play from the point guard position, adding a player of Paul’s caliber – arguably the best point guard in the NBA at the time would have made Miami that much more dominant.

While Wade’s superstardom began to fade due to knee injuries in 2012, limiting him to just 49 games, Miami having a prime Paul would definitely have taken a good amount of the burden from the aging star along with the efforts of James.

By 2014, James was the clear face of the Heat and of the NBA, but the wear on Wade’s knees eventually ended a dynasty that was expected to last closer to a decade. If either Wade or Paul had decided to give up their jersey number to further cement the Heat as a powerhouse, that idea may have come to fruition.