Sep 28, 2009 6:40 pm US/Eastern
Wade Prepared To Top Off Last Season
By Solange Reyner
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat takes a breather against the Phoenix Suns on March 4, 2009, at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.
Victor Baldizon/NBAE/Getty Images
Dwyane Wade had an MVP-caliber season last year. So what's it going to take for the seven-year pro to top it off?
"I just have to pay more money in the offseason, I guess," Wade said Monday during the Miami Heat's Media Day.
Wade's summer consisted of $150,000 spent on chefs, physical therapists, and Pilates and Yoga instructors – an amount he and former Heat member Alonzo Mourning calculated one day when Wade was hurt during a previous season.
"We both were sitting down in the back and he kind of broke down to me all the people that you need to make sure that you body is right. He broke it down to me number wise and said, 'What's that – $150,000?' Wade said.
"That's a $150,000 investment into your body. At that moment, it kind of hit home to me and let me know you have to take care of your body. This is the engine in the car, and you have to make sure the engine purrs when you get on the road."
Wade hopes he can guide the Heat to another post-season appearance. They failed to make it past the first round last year, losing to the Atlanta Hawks in game 7 on the road.
Miami is already the underdog in the Eastern Conference, and many say its because the team did nothing to alleviate the load off their star player.
Wade averaged a career-high 30.2 points and had 172 steals last season, but needs more help from his surrounding cast if he wants another championship ring.
"We like the people that we have. Its interesting that people write this group off. When you look at some of the pieces here you can see the chance for this team to be special," Coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We have to address the defensive part of the game. We need to be more consistent with our system and build something that's ready to compete with the best in the league."
Jermaine O'Neal returned from an off-season of training with renowned strength and conditioning coach Tim Grover in Chicago and says his knee is one hundred percent healthy. Mario Chalmers, who played and started mostly at point guard last season, has a year of NBA experienced under his belt.
Michael Beasley is also back for year two – but questions still surround the former college star's well-being. He had a tumultuous offseason and spent 30 days in a substance-abuse facility in Houston as part of a requirement after violating the NBA's substance-abuse program during the rookie symposium. While there, Beasley posted messages indicating that he was depressed.
The Heat feel they have all the necessary pieces.
"We knew in the summer time there wasn't going to be huge additions," said O'Neal, who came in a four-player trade last February.
"Do we expect to be better than we were last year? Absolutely. I know that this coaching staff is going to hold everyone accountable."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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