One assumption many made throughout LeBron James' free agency was that the pull of playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would be strong enough to keep him in Miami, especially after both opted out of a lot of guaranteed money to also become free agents. That didn't come to pass, and James instead returned home to Cleveland.
One wouldn't blame Wade for being upset, but he doesn't appear to be. Instead, he reportedly is at peace with James' decision.
Source tells me Wade found out on flight yesterday LeBron was going back to CLE. Wade understood. Wade then told Bosh "Do what you gotta do"
— Bill Reiter (@foxsportsreiter) July 11, 2014
This contradicts previous reports that Wade was unaware of James' decision at the time, but the idea that Wade knew is more plausible. He probably didn't want to spoil James' announcement.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with Wade now that James is already gone and Bosh appears headed to Houston. He left two years and $42 million on the table to become a free agent, but if he returns to Miami, it'll be all by himself. Will the Heat give him a lucrative deal as loyalty to what he's already done for the organization, or will he too flee to another team, even if it requires a pay cut?