MIAMI -- Longtime Miami Heat captain Udonis Haslem said?Dwyane Wades free-agency departure to Chicago could have been avoided, but that his close friend and former teammate was dealing with lingering frustrations that came to a head last week.Wade turned down a two-year, $41.5 million offer from Miami amid acrimonious negotiations with team president Pat Riley and instead accepted a two-year deal worth $47 million from the Chicago Bulls. Wade walked away from the Miami, where he spent the first 13 seasons of his career and helped guide the Heat to five trips to the NBA Finals and three championships as the franchises career-leading scorer.Wades move leaves Haslem as the lone remaining player who has been a part of all three of the Heats championship teams in 2006, 2012 and 2013.I wanted him to come back, but I just know, personally, there were a lot of things he was feeling that, I guess, maybe just came to a head at this particular time, Haslem said during a conference call Tuesday to announce his one-year deal to return to Miami. For whatever reason, we -- the organization -- and him, couldnt get to an agreement.Haslem then referenced last summers free-agency controversy when center DeAndre Jordan agreed to sign a max deal with the Dallas Mavericks?but reneged after teammates Chris Paul and Blake Griffin convinced him to return to the Los Angeles Clippers. Haslem, 36, somberly joked that he should have considered a similar tactic to get Wade to come back to Miami.In hindsight, I dont know, I think I should have come in and pulled a Chris Paul and handcuffed him like they did DeAndre Jordan and made him change his mind, Haslem said. I dont know if there was anything I could have done or should have done. But I felt like it could have been avoided. For whatever reason, it just wasnt.The Heat used the salary-cap space that was set aside for Wade to instead bring back Haslem and add role players Derrick Williams, Wayne Ellington, Willie Reed and Tyler Johnson, among others, in one of the teams most drastic makeovers in six years.Wade acknowledged Saturday that his differences the past two seasons with Riley in contract negotiations were a major factor that led to him finally leaving the franchise that selected him No. 5 in the 2003 NBA draft. Wade, 34, has never been the Heats highest-paid player during any of his 13 seasons. Tension over Wades contract status arose in 2014, when Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh opted out of their contracts to become free agents.James returned to Cleveland that summer, and the Heat then scrambled to keep Bosh by signing him to a five-year, $118 million contract. Wade, who opted out of the final two years and $42 million left on his deal, was re-signed to a two-year, $31 million deal that allowed him to re-enter free agency a year later. After a contract dispute with Riley last summer, Wade then negotiated a one-year, $20 million deal with Heat owner Micky Arison.Arison, however, was unable to bridge the gap between the two when he met with Wade last week in a last-ditch effort to convince him to remain with the Heat.Wade and Haslem have played together since they arrived in Miami in 2003, when Haslem made the team after going undrafted the previous year out of the University of Florida. Haslem said hes moving forward as if Bosh will be able to resume his career next season after recurring blood clots cut short his last two seasons.Im just glad to be back, said Haslem, the Heats career leader in rebounds. For 13 years, Ive been a part of this organization. Ive always had my mind set on finishing it this way. Obviously, I never envisioned finishing it without my brother. Its bittersweet, obviously. Lee Grant Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. David de Gea Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer.com/womens-david-de-gea-manchester-united-jersey/ . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Sergio Romero Manchester United Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Anthony Martial Jersey .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Bill Snyder recalled this week arguably the lowest point of his coaching career.It was nearly two decades ago, when Kansas State rolled into the Big 12 title game unbeaten and ranked No. 1. The Wildcats needed only to beat Texas A&M to have an opportunity to play for a national championship, but squandered a big lead in an overtime loss that spoiled their season.That, Snyder said this week, was a hard loss.He hopes for a much different result against the Aggies later this month.Kansas State heads to the Texas Bowl in Houston to face its old conference rival, and just like in 1998, there will be more at stake than simply a trophy and some bragging rights. Those closest to the program believe things are lining up for Snyder to contend for one more conference title, and just maybe, force their way into the College Football Playoff and make another run at a national championship.Knocking off the Aggies on Dec. 28 would serve as a catapult toward those lofty aspirations, sending a Kansas State team filled with underclassmen into the offseason on a high note.Next year is next year, Snyder said, but surely it could. Hopefully that would be the case. As Ive said every year, each year has totally different dynamics than previous years. Its one step at a time. More often than not, the previous year and how things play out is not necessarily a good indicator of where the next team is going to go.Indeed, some of the Wildcats best seasons have come after lackluster efforts, while some of their worst seasons have come after achieving some of their greatest heights.But the way they perform in bowl games tends to be a harbinger. They were coming off a Fiesta Bowl triumph when they ran unbeaten through the regular season in 98, and they were coming off a Holiday Bowl victory in 2003, when they beat mighty Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game.There is also something to be said for momentum: Kansas State (8-4) has won five of its last six, and has been on an upward trajectory ever since a season-opening loss at Stanford. The youth that had Big 12 coaches picking the Wildcats to finish eighth has slowly matured, and now a team that starts three freshmen and regularly plays three times that many is hardened and experienced.dddddddddddd.Everything that weve accomplished so far, it was not expected of us, Kansas State linebacker Trent Tanking explained. We could go from the team that was considered young and inexperienced to the team that finished the season strong.Not to mention the team that is poised for bigger things next season.Start with the offense, where the only starters who will be lost to graduation are offensive lineman Terrale Johnson, wide receiver Deante Burton and running back Charles Jones. All of them have backups who have played considerably this season, which should smooth their departure.Their big playmakers are all due back: quarterback Jesse Ertz, running backs Alex Barnes and Justin Silmon, wide receiver Byron Pringle and tight end Dayton Valentine.Defensively, the Wildcats will lose stalwart defensive end Jordan Willis, veteran safety Dante Barnett and three other starters. But similar to the offense, their backups played meaningful snaps, and two freshmen starters will have a year of seasoning.Then there is the schedule itself.The nonconference includes home games against Central Arkansas and Charlotte sandwiched around a trip to Vanderbilt, giving the Wildcats a chance to get off to a good start. The Big 12 slate sends most of the elite teams, including Oklahoma, West Virginia and Baylor, to Manhattan.In other words, things are lining up perfectly for a big season.Still, Snyder is reluctant to gaze too far into the future. The 77-year-old coach hasnt even confirmed he will be back next season, though thats the assumption.He certainly isnt going to think about what next year holds with Texas A&M sitting on the horizon.Im proud of the young people in our program and their coaches for embellishing and making a commitment to daily improvement, he said, and as youve heard me say so many times, its not totally consistent but at the end of the day weve gotten better on a very regular basis and Id attribute any success that weve had to that year-in and year-out. ' ' '
