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Return games for departed franchise players have become an awkward tradition in this NBA era of star player fluidity. The latest comes Thursday when Dwyane Wade will play in front of Miami fans in a Chicago Bulls jersey.Wade has been a part of many of these spectacles during his 14-year career. Shaquille ONeal and LeBron James both had dramatic Heat comings and goings, for example. As Wade put it: Ive seen a lot of video tributes.Yet this one feels different. Wade can still play at a high level and wanted to stay in Miami, which typically is the ideal situation for the home team.And over the past several years, teams have rewarded franchise players with a final payday both for services and as a thank-you on their way into the sunset. Kobe Bryant got his two-year, $48 million contract. Dirk Nowitzki got two years and $50 million, $30 million guaranteed. Even Kevin Garnett, who was at the end of the line, got two years and $16 million from Minnesota. Wade is younger and less run-down physically than all of them, so his request last summer of something in the Bryant/Nowitzki ballpark wasnt unreasonable.But the Heat prioritized younger free agents Hassan Whiteside, whom they retained, and Kevin Durant, whom they did not land. They had plausible deniability for not giving Wade the $47 million Chicago did. The Heat offered Wade all of their available cap space after getting Whiteside and then turned their pockets out.But they had ways of getting more cap space. They were willing to do it for Durant; they werent for Wade. He walked -- simple and not simple.I dont think a lot of people understand. If youre not in this business its hard to understand, Wade said. I dont really want [fans] to understand. I want them to appreciate what we accomplished.Funny, thats what Heat president Pat Riley wants, too. Dont bring up the acrimonious ends to the James, Wade and Bosh eras -- or the ONeal era while youre at it. Instead celebrate the banners and enjoy the video tributes as everyone focuses on the future.Only Wade and Riley truly know what happened last summer, and theyre not ready to talk it out. Wade said Wednesday that he hadnt talked to Riley since rejecting a two-year, $41 million offer. In September, Riley said hed written a lengthy email to Wade but hadnt sent it: Hes going to have to read through the lines, but hell get the point at the end. I have it in my save drafts. So Ive just got to hit send, thats all. I will.Heres one reason its hard to understand, unpleasant and complicated: The Heat might have wanted Wade to walk.Riley knew it was long shot for Bosh to return from his blood clot issues and was ready to sever that relationship. The Heat knew Wade was about to turn 35 and had a history of bad knees. They knew Durant, Stephen Curry, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are among those in the free-agent class next summer. At the time, Russell Westbrook was slated to be as well. Riley always believes he can land the big one, no matter the perceived odds.The Heat knew they had young players Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson to develop. They believe Winslow is going to be a star. Hes a rugged 20-year-old defender with a faulty shot (hes shooting an ugly 31 percent so far this season), and they envision molding him the way the San Antonio Spurs turned the defensively gifted Kawhi Leonard into an MVP candidate with a few years of heavy seasoning.They believe next years draft could be deep, and they actually have their first-round pick. Thats not an insignificant fact: Theyve traded away eight first-round picks -- theirs or others they owned -- since 2010. (They also traded up in the first round twice.)They believe they have one of the best in-season coaches in the league in Erik Spoelstra. Scouts compare him to a mechanic who gets under the hood between October and January, toiling with rotations, positions and pet plays, before emerging with game plans that overachieve by spring. Hes the leagues second-longest-tenured coach after Gregg Popovich, and hes done some of his best coaching jobs with his least-talented rosters. Then again, hes never had a team without Wade.If Spoelstra cant make magic, and the Heat look as if theyre headed for the lottery by midseason, they might be able to flip Goran Dragic for a prospect or another first-round pick in next summers draft.Riley prefers to build through free agency, but he and general manager Andy Elisburg have traveled this road before. In the past 15 years, theyve had just three losing seasons. Theyve averaged a 19-win improvement after those seasons. These improvements probably dont work with Wade on the roster and on the books.They couldnt chase a big free agent with his desired salary next to Whitesides. Wades still good enough to perhaps carry them to the playoffs, making it harder to chase a draft pick or trade Dragic if that route ends up being a real option. And hes a danger of having injury issues. With Bosh still on the payroll for this season, thats a lot of exposure.When he knew it was time, Riley traded former cornerstones Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning when other teams were ready to offer richer contracts (Mourning later returned and won a title). He traded ONeal. He traded Shawn Marion. He told Bosh it was over in a news conference. He held the line on Wade and watched him leave.Most of the time, its worked out for Riley in the long run. Sometimes in the short run, too. And if theres one thing hes better at than team-building, its hugging it out. Hardaway and Mourning ended up working in the front office. ONeal is coming back to have his jersey retired this season. Bosh and James will someday, too -- probably. Wade should be back for a statue. He might even come back to play; theres precedent after all.But for now, saying goodbye might have been prudent if not popular. Riley isnt afraid to do it, even if it means the occasional uncomfortable night. I know who Pat is. Its no secret to me, Wade said. I know how he is. If youre not with him, youre against him ... and Im cool with it. Custom Packers Jerseys . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Authentic Custom Packers Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/ . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Custom Rashan Gary Jersey . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Custom Packers Jersey China . LUCIE, Fla. A 41-year-old page ripped from a barbers appointment book sold for $1,824 last week on eBay.The reason? It might be the last dated autograph of acclaimed runner Steve Prefontaine.The item became available when Pete Peterson, who had been at the Red Rooster for more than 45 years, left after selling the barbershop earlier this year. He sold memorabilia to a customer named Eric Warlick, who eventually posted it on eBay.Jordy Geller, the worlds most famous Nike collector, spotted it and made the purchase last week.Prefontaine is such a legend, and this is a one-of-a-kind piece, said Geller, who has four original pairs of the model shoes made for Prefontaine for the 1976 Olympics.Prefontaine never made it to Montreal, of course, as he died in a car crash in the early morning hours of May 30, 1975, after winning a 5,000-meter race and attending a party hosted by Geoff Hollister, who was Nikes third employee.The date in the appointment book was May 29. That morning, as Peterson tells it, Prefontaine walked into to make a 2 p.m. appointment, and wrote his name down as customers would do, but he came in again and crossed it out.I just want to concentrate on the race, Prefontaine told Peterson.The next day, Petersons wife came into the bathroom as Peterson was showering and told him that a reporter on the radio was reporting that Prefontaine had died at the age of 24. I was shell-shocked, said Peterson.The two had hungg out together countless times since Prefontaine started getting his hair cut as a student on the track team at the University of Oregon.dddddddddddd They would frequently go to the local pub and Prefontaine would smoke cigars.People never believe me because he was the runner that he was, but he did love the cigars, Peterson said. I was friends with one of the investigators of his accident, and they said his autopsy showed he had twice the normal lung capacity of a normal human.After winning seven NCAA titles, Nike -- which was co-founded by Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman and one of his runners, Phil Knight -- signed Prefontaine as its first endorser in 1973.He kept trying to get me to invest, Peterson said. He started with $5,000 and eventually was down to $1,000.Peterson said he doesnt have any regrets about saying no to a deal that would have made him a millionaire because he didnt have the kind of cash to make the investment.Peterson cut the hair of the likes of Norv Turner and Dan Fouts when they were at Oregon. Fouts famously said that Peterson had the best reading material, which referred to Petersons full collection of Playboy magazines.Geller bought the memorabilia in the shop and, aside from the Prefontaine piece, will be auctioning that off on eBay in the coming weeks. ' ' '