D-Wade Says Heat Doubters Serve As Motivation

Monday, 19 July 2010 11:15

There’s been plenty of media and public condemnation of the Miami Heat in the wake of their big free agent signings of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Some have suggested that there’s no way that the big egos involved can peacefully co-exist and form a cohesive team unit. There are others who argue that with so much money allocated to the ‘Big Three’ there’s no room in the budget for a supporting cast. That’s fine with Dwyane Wade, who says that the ‘doubters’ fuel his motivation and competitive fire.

At a Miami charity event, Wade addressed the topic of ‘doubters’:

"My whole career is built on fuel. It's always been there. It's not going to change what I do with my life. It's not going to change the way I am as a person. But it fuels you. And we all need that. Every athlete, every competitor needs something to fuel them. It's going to happen throughout the year."

Wade added that the Heat’s lower profile veteran acquisitions will provide valuable leadership:

"When it comes to the top players and the excitement of players, you can't put a price tag on experience and we're bringing that in with guys like Juwan and Big Z and Mike Miller and of course UD coming back. We went last year and the last two years of having a pretty young team of guys. Now we're a veteran-type team."

He’s keenly aware that the Heat are already the team to beat and have become a ‘target’ for opposing teams:

"We enjoy the bull's-eye. Plus, there's going to be times when we lose 2-3 games in a row, and it seems like the world has crashed down. You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade is coming down again, but it's not going to be nothing but a couple basketball games. We're not even the champions but we're going to get that kind of attention from teams. It's a respect factor."

Ultimately, Wade knows that what his team does on the court is the most important:

"I'm not really concerned about what people say any more. I've made my comments. Inside here, we know how competitive we're going to be. At the end of the day, we've got to play the game of basketball. We'll all see then. There's not much to say."

The Heat is still expected to make some more moves as they fill out their roster. They’ve re-signed Udonis Haslem, and inked former Washington shooting guard Mike Miller. They’re also interested in picking up veteran Juwan Howard and guard Carlos Arroyo.

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D-Wade Says Heat Doubters Serve As Motivation

D-Wade Says Heat Doubters Serve As Motivation

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