“I was actually leaving Miami at that time. I didn’t think nobody out there that we could get was going to help get to that level.” Last year, Dwyane Wade expressed he was open to leaving the Heat before the formation of the Big 3. ‘The Decision’ from LeBron James not only led to a career-altering decision for him but the effects of it can be seen even today. And the one who had to face the brunt of it was none other than LeBron’s teammate, D-Wade.

The 43-year-old said, “So I like to say is like people think that we planned it. We did not plan it, but it did come together beautifully. And this was the first time I was a part of player empowerment when the players just sat down.” During his appearance on the Underground Lounge podcast, the 3x NBA champion highlighted how the formation of Big 3 took place. In that conversation, Dwyane Wade stated how discussions with LeBron James and Chris Bosh took place beforehand to discuss “the pros and the cons.” But he didn’t expect the 14-year-old decision to bite him back.

The Flash is a minority owner of the NBA team Utah Jazz and WNBA team Chicago Sky. He added, “And this came back, the player empowerment just came back to bite us a few times on his other side. I had a player tell me, ‘D-Wade, ain’t that what you told me to do?’ Yeah, I’m like yeah, ‘When I was a player. Don’t do it back to me.‘” The Heat legend suggested that when players started demanding the same, he realized the impact of his decision.

It struck particularly when the majority owner of the Jazz and he had a discussion. “Ryan (Smith) looked at me like I was like, ‘Yeah, bro, this was before I was sitting in this. Came back to bite me later.'” It was a successful stint for Dwyane Wade as a player, as the team won 2 championships in 4 seasons. Despite the on-court adjustments, players had to sacrifice certain monetary gains.

Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Co. took pay cuts for the Big 3 creation

There was no guarantee at first that the Heat would be able to sign superstars alongside D-Wade. That’s why he had plans to leave the franchise, and that’s when the conversation with LeBron began. Once the negotiations were finalized, the trio took pay cuts to continue building a sustainable squad.

As per Brian Windhorst of ESPN, Dwyane Wade gave up $1.5 million of his annual salary. Meanwhile, LeBron James and Chris Bosh each gave up $1 million. The three superstars first agreed to take $1 million less than the max salary to bring in sharpshooter Mike Miller. The Knicks tried to lure Mike Miller with a $60 million offer, however, he rejected that and accepted a much lower deal of $30 million to join the Miami team.

Similarly, Miami’s own Udonis Haslem had multiple offers on his table but accepted a five-year, $20.3 million deal from the Heat. But it seems the current players have forgotten those sacrifices, which Dwyane Wade and Co. made when they asked the 3x NBA champion for an improved contract.