MIAMI, (Reuters) – The Miami Heat boast three of the biggest names in the NBA after their off-season free agency coup, but head coach Erik Spoelstra and face-of-the-franchise Dwyane Wade insist there is no worry of clashing egos.
Wade will have to share the limelight with LeBron James and Chris Bosh this season but Spoelstra said that the trio would not be in Miami now if they were thinking selfishly.
“I don’t think there is going to be a problem in terms of ego, that is what everyone is waiting for, I understand it but you have to put yourselves in their shoes — they have made the steps that they have made,” Spoelstra told reporters yesterday.
“You are underestimating their intelligence. They put a great deal of thought into their free agency and they would not make a move like this individually if they were worried about things like that.”
Spoelstra said that the three players, all of whom rejected bigger money opportunities to play together on one team, had shown a willingness to give up something for the common good. He said he was sad that aspect had been ignored among the criticism of his franchise.
“What we are trying to do is something special and that is what these guys made sacrifices to be a part of. I think that is the message that was lost this summer,” he said.
“At first it was surprising for us because you would think today, in sports, that a team assembled like this would be celebrated — guys really willing to sacrifice, not only to give up money but also give up some things statistically, how they are judged by their peers, to give up a lot of that to be a part of something bigger than themselves, that should really be celebrated but it wasn’t.
“People are always clamouring for players to make it not about money, not about statistics and here you have an example of higher profile players making those sacrifices and yet they still get criticized.”
Wade said if there was a risk it was that the trio could be too unselfish.
“If ego was going to be problem, I don’t think all three of us would be sitting here, playing for the same team,” he said. “You have got to understand the personalities that you have — we understand that we can do it together but it is not just about us three either.
“Everyone has an ego in the NBA, everyone has an ego in life. I don’t want LeBron and Chris not to bring their ego because that is the reason that they are the players they are.
“It is just about understanding that we are doing this for a bigger purpose and it’s not for self, this for our community, for the franchise, this for our families.
“It goes deeper than just Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. I think we understand that.”
