Trading him for the correct haul would be the best option, but that is just not realistic. The skills and playing styles of James and Wade overlap too greatly to get an efficient transfer of talent into actual team success. The Heat are now 16-3 without Wade, and I believe at least one of those losses came without James as well. So they might be 16-2 without Wade and with James. The floor spacing is just so much better when James is surrounded by a plethora of shooters. Just look at how deadly those Cavaliers teams were in those two regular seasons in spite of how under-talented they were. James is one of the best players in the league at creating and finding the open three point shooter with frequency and pinpoint accuracy. Ray Allen should start for the Heat, and Wade should come of the bench and play 25 minutes per game. This would allow the Heat to:
1) Maximize the productive yield of the deadly James-Allen combo.
2) Avoid some of the diminishing returns associated with the James-Wade combo.
3) Keep Wade fresher and healthier throughout the course of the season.
4) Strengthen the bench unit, which could lead to a more stable rotation with greater chemistry.
Of course, the ideal option would be to trade him for the appropriate assets.
Heat need to bring Wade off the bench
Re: Heat need to bring Wade off the bench
I agree. Wade is the best and most complete guard in the game, but if you look at James over the course of his career you find that he is like an amorphous basketball machine, filling gaps in his team as and when he sees the need (i.e. when somebody else isn't doing what's needed), as such the Heat would do well to find his limitations (?) and fill those gaps.
Re: Heat need to bring Wade off the bench
30% of James assists are for 3 pointers right now. More than in last 2 seasons but below his peak of near 40% with the 2008-9 Cavs.