Dwyane Wade was running out of places to play, running low on destinations that made sense for someone to continue — or perhaps close out — a career that will eventually find him donning an orange jacket in Springfield, Massachusetts. Wade went home to a hero’s welcome in Chicago only to discover that the team for which he grew up rooting for wanted to rebuild a year into a two-year deal. He then repaid the good friend who once nearly burnished his reputation in his home state to join Wade with a reunion in Cleveland. There, he accepted the limitations of his age, and changed his game and number for an awkward fit that never looked or felt right.

All along, Wade recognized that what he needed couldn’t be duplicated anywhere else but Miami. What he was missing wasn’t going to be found with a bigger bag of money or by rekindling magic that only worked with the organization where Wade had always belonged. But if a hissy over respect during a contentious contract negotiation led to their separation, a history of mutual respect during 13 years of success brought them back together. “I was birthed here,” Wade recently told Yahoo Sports. “This was all I knew. You might’ve heard Coach [Erik Spoelstra] or Pat Riley say, ‘This is not for everybody here.’ And it’s not. But it’s for me.”

Wade had never experienced being traded at the deadline until his 15th season in the NBA, but a midseason move is acceptable when it involves a return to the familiar. And he hadn’t realized how much he’d need the Miami homecoming until the loss of his former agent and longtime mentor, Henry Thomas, turned upside down the world of Wade.

View photos Dwyane Wade is at home again with the Miami Heat. (Getty) More

“I think I had a little depression that last couple of days in Cleveland,” Wade told Yahoo Sports. “This definitely gave me a little jolt. I’ve never lost anyone close to me, that Ioved. So this definitely has taken a little time to get over. But being back here kind of helps that, being in my environment, my comfort zone with people that love me and that I love. That was a sad moment.”

At Thomas’ funeral, Wade received all of the confirmation he needed to believe that reconciliation was possible with the Heat. Though Wade and the Heat had publicly thrown bouquets of affection at each other during their time apart, and Riley had long ago sent Wade an email expressing his appreciation for the player who brought Miami its first championship and sacrificed money and prestige to bring two more, the hard feelings were settled in silence. Riley gave Wade a hug.

“It sounds simple. But it’s like, sometimes, as a kid, you just need that embrace from your father,” Wade told Yahoo Sports. “Him coming to my agent’s funeral, a very vulnerable time for myself and [Udonis Haslem, who was also represented by Thomas], meant a lot to me. Just that warm embrace meant a lot to me as well. You know the business can get in the way. I understand that. I made the decision I made [to leave], but at the end of the day, I know that guy [Riley] would run through a brick wall for me. And this organization would. It felt right. I think that had a big thing to do with this trade happening to bring me back at this time.”

Had the Cavaliers been in a better place, rather than staging a slow death march, Wade might still be doing the peanut butter-and-jelly thing with LeBron James. But what began as an odd, confusing collection of talent developed into an odd, confusing collection of incongruous talent that needed to be separated before it imploded. “I felt like I did everything that was asked of me there, but the team wasn’t working as a whole,” Wade told Yahoo Sports. “That’s basketball, man. That’s life. Things don’t always work out. You give it your best. … I feel like I did a great job there. I feel like, with my role, I did as good as I can. Unfortunately, we weren’t winning games and they had to make some changes. And that’s OK. It was time for them to make those moves.”

Story continues