In the NBA, team presidents often navigate complex negotiations and make bold decisions that can redefine the trajectory of their franchises. From Jerry West orchestrating the LA Lakers’ trade for Kobe Bryant to Danny Ainge assembling Boston’s Big Three in 2008, these moments resonate in league history. One such monumental decision came in 2010 when Miami Heat President Pat Riley pulled off a $48 million move.

During the recent episode of the ‘OGs Podcast’ Udonis Haslem asked Riley how all the big media houses never got to know about the big three trade. In answering, the 79-year-old disclosed that Dwyane Wade knew of Miami’s plans to acquire both LeBron James and Chris Bosh during the 2010 offseason.

“We knew it. We knew it and everybody, Dwyane knew it. I said Dwyane, you are the lynchpin here. I said don’t you think about going back to Chicago,” said Riley during the podcast. Wade, a free agent, was considering going to his hometown after the Heat had finished the previous season with a 47-35 record and The Flash was looking to make a run for a championship. It was also the team looking to bring in LeBron among the LA Clipper, the NY Knicks, and the NJ Nets.

It was a challenging situation for the Heat if they wanted to bring him in. Bulls were poised to come out a winner with D-Wade himself looking to beat King James in the race. However, as the latter once revealed, much aligning with Pat Riley’s view of Wade being the lynchpin for the Big 3 formation, LeBron believed in the local star. He wanted to win a championship, having been void of one throughout his years in the league. Bosh was of the same intention. And teaming up with each other, especially Wade, who was a champion already, seemed to be the answer.

“To be able to be here and be able to learn and be alongside D-Wade, UD [Udonis Haslem] and Spo [Erik Spoelstra]… it definitely was great to be a part of, for sure,” the LA Lakers star conveyed via ESPN. Moreover, when Wade was considering leaving the Heat, it was LeBron who gave him a call that made him stay, though the details of the conversation are unknown.

So Riley wasn’t far off when he called D-Wade the key to the result. But it would require quite the sum from the franchise. “We had about 48 million or whatever it was. Everybody was going to get 16.6. That’s what the max was. Today they get 50. But that was a lot back then. 16.6 so, we had enough room for all three guys,” said Riley during the podcast.

It is true that in 2010 much of the media frenzy around “The Decision” was spent discussing LeBron James, but the way the Heat acquired James and Bosh was underreported in detail. Miami was able to work sign-and-trade deals with Cleveland and Toronto to take all three superstars while still giving them cap space and valuable assets.

When the “Big Three” assembled under one name, there was no time to waste. Though they lost to the Dallas Mavericks, Miami made the NBA Finals in their first season together (2010–11), going 58–24. The next year, they rebounded and won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.

Thankfully, Wade did not make that move on Chicago.

Dwyane Wade’s rumors during his free agency

Wade, drafted fifth overall by the Miami Heat in 2003, quickly rose to prominence as one of the league’s premier stars. From leading the Heat to their first-ever NBA championship in 2006 to earning Finals MVP honors, Wade’s loyalty and leadership became synonymous with Miami basketball. However, his 2010 free agency created a whirlwind of speculation, as he considered leaving his longtime team.

The most persistent talks linked Wade to the Chicago Bulls, his hometown team. The only speculation that the fans did at that time was that Wade had already won a championship with the Heat, and he wanted to try something new for a change. Another rumor that came was that the ‘Big Three’ were all going to Chicago Bulls together. “If the Bulls were able to trade, Luol Deng to the Clippers, which they had talks about doing, that Big 3 would’ve been in Chicago. Trust me on that one,” said KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

That never happened and all three of the standouts ended up playing with the Heat for the next four years. Yet in 2016, Wade left the club due to financial deal disputes, joining the Bulls. But he remains the face of the franchise, being the real factor in bringing the Big 3, that often defines the Heat history, together.