The Denver Nuggets have reportedly set up a face-to-face meeting with free agent Dwyane Wade on Wednesday in New York City, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
This comes on the heels of the Nuggets reportedly offering Wade a two-year deal in excess of $50 million. Denver is one of three teams meeting with Wade, along with the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls. A meeting with the Miami Heat, Wojnarowski reported, is still possible but not set in stone.
Many believed at the start of free agency that Wade would return to Miami, where he's played all 13 years of his career and won three titles. The Heat offered Wade a two-year deal worth $40 million, but it apparently was not enough. In order to offer more, Miami would have to unload somebody already on its roster.
Wade has taken pay cuts in each of his last three contracts with the Heat so that the team could pursue other high-profile free agents. It does not appear as if Wade is interested in taking a fourth.
Signing Wade would give the Nuggets their first true star since they traded Carmelo Anthony to New York. It also might vault them into playoff contention. The 34-year-old Wade proved he had plenty of gas in the tank last season in averaging 19.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game.
Wade has gone to five championships and six Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat. He was named the Finals MVP in 2006 when he led Miami to a 4-2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks. And he was a key player on the string of Heat teams that went to four straight Finals from 2011-14 and included LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
