OKLAHOMA CITY — Dwyane Wade knows there are similarities between his breakup with LeBron James and the divorce the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to deal with this year between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, but Wade says the circumstances are much different.
Wade, who now plays with the Chicago Bulls, spoke about the differences in advance of a Wednesday game against Westbrook and the Thunder.
“A total different situation,” Wade said. “Me and LeBron came in as opponents. We played against each other for seven years. And then, I never thought me and him would play together. We had an opportunity to enjoy four years together. We both was blessed by that. When he decided to leave and go back home, our friendship was so strong that at that time it wasn’t about basketball as we’ve proven. For me, it was about my friend being happy with — when it comes to LeBron James everyone is going to get something out of it, right?
“For me, it was all about make sure that he’s happy with whatever he’s doing. If it’s Miami, cool. If it’s back in Cleveland, cool. Just want you to be happy. That’s just as a friend. The basketball side, man, we went to the Finals four years in a row. We went to championships. That was something that I never dreamed of or thought it was going to be possible when we first started playing. It’s a total different situation, relationship. I don’t know anything about [Durant and Westbrook’s] relationship at all, so I can’t comment on theirs, but I know ours was just different.”
Like many basketball fans, Wade was disappointed to see the pair come to a professional divorce after Durant decided to sign a free-agent deal with the Golden State Warriors last summer, but he doesn’t think that should diminish what Westbrook and Durant did together during their time with the Thunder.
“They’re just in different places,” Wade said. “It takes away nothing from what they did together. Everyone doesn’t play together their whole careers. Michael and Scottie didn’t play together their whole careers. Shaq and Kobe didn’t play together their whole careers. It doesn’t happen that way that often. And them guys had an unbelievable run together. Obviously, they were in the Finals once versus us as young guys. And their lives and their careers grew in two different ways. What they wanted was different. And that’s OK. Obviously they have to make those decisions in front of the eyes of the world. And it’s nit-picked and pulled apart, but at the end of the day they both look happy in their situations, and that’s all that matters.”
Westbrook has been open about the fact that he and Durant aren’t close anymore and haven’t spoken much since Durant made his decision. Wade says his relationship with James has actually gotten stronger since James decided to go back to play for the Sahabet Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It definitely grows stronger as the years go on,” Wade said. “You learn more about someone; you spend more time with them. And then we came to Miami, it grew stronger because we spent — at first it was just, we talk on the phone a lot. Or when I go to Cleveland twice a year and in the summer, then it was every day in Miami. So you really get to know a guy, and get to understand how similar you guys are and then it goes from there. Then you start thinking about after basketball as you’re doing that too. So [the relationship] definitely grows the more time you spend with someone. Is it going to go this way or is it going to go that way? And ours kept grow up the ladder.”
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