As the Summit in South Beach continues to manifest various scenarios and reports on where LeBron James and Chris Bosh are headed next season, one thing is 99.9% evident: Dwyane Wade will re-sign with the Miami Heat.

Wade has publicly said on numerous occasions that he doesn’t want to leave Miami, and all signs point to a contract extension between the Heat and the 2008-09 NBA scoring champion.

“I want to be in Miami,” Wade recently told the Miami Herald.

Once the Heat were eliminated from the 2010 NBA playoffs, Wade made it clear to team president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison that he needs more help and  a roster upgrade was necessary in order for the Heat to be able to compete for another championship.

“There’s no pressure on me. I’ve said where my heart is. You just have to see things being done and accomplished,” Wade said at a postgame news conference after the Heat lost Game 5 in Boston.

Well, apparently Wade has seen enough “things being done and accomplished” that he seems to be on the verge of re-signing with the only NBA franchise he has called home since he came to the league in 2003.

The Heat are actively pursuing Wade’s 2003 classmates in James and Bosh, and other big-name free agents, with D-Wade leading the recruiting. All three are very close friends, and they’ve all broached the subject of possibly playing on the same team to increase their chances of winning a title.

Wade already has a championship ring, but James and Bosh are thirsting for their first. James has become increasing frustrated with his playoff disappointments with the Cavaliers while Bosh has been an afterthought in Toronto. Having Wade, James and Bosh on one roster doesn’t guarantee a championship, but it definitely affords the Heat an enormous amount of star power and could challenge the Los Angeles Lakers in terms of popularity.

Bosh is the key to the whole deal. He is the third wheel in this star-studded triangle. Wade and James should get their maximum deals so that leaves Bosh with a little less than what he’s asking for.

The Heat have had their eye on Bosh since 2003, and was reportedly ready to make the former Georgia Tech standout their first-round selection until Toronto snagged him at No. 4 and the Heat “settled” for Wade at No. 5.

Miami is expected to dump 10 contracts this summer, giving the team plenty of cap space to sign two maximum contracts and possibly a third All-Star if it can somehow unload Michael Beasley’s contract to another sucker… I mean another team.

Is South Beach big enough to house LeBron and D-Wade?

“It’s funny to hear scenarios, for people to tell you that you know and you thought about it,” Wade told the Associated Press. “In New York, they kind of made me say, tried to make me say that I have thought about it or I have talked to LeBron. It’s amazing to me that people are inside my head that way. I don’t know.”

The Heat have somewhat of an advantage over other teams when it comes to dealing with this year’s free-agent drama because Riley has been through this taxing process before.

In 1996, he managed to convince Alonzo Mourning to leave the hive in Charlotte and come to South Beach and become the honorary Mayor of Miami. OK, maybe Mourning didn’t become the mayor but he at least pocketed a cool $100 million contract and the keys to the Heat franchise.

Then, in 2004, Riley pulled off one of the biggest trades in NBA history when he acquired Shaquille O’Neal from the Los Angeles Lakers for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a first-round pick.

After bringing the Big Fella to South Beach, Riley reworked the team into a championship contender for the next two seasons, picking up veterans Gary Payton and Mourning, and trading for Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and James Posey. The final piece was Riley himself, pushing aside Stan Van Gundy and coaching the Heat to the 2006 NBA title.

Does Riley have another blockbuster move left in him?

We shall see. The only thing for sure is that Wade will be playing with another All-Star (or two) in Miami when the 2009-10 season arrives.

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The moment the Miami Heat was eliminated from the 2010 NBA playoffs,  the focus of attention shifted to the future of Dwyane Wade. Did he play his last game in a Heat uniform?

Wade was noncommittal as usually, leaving the door open for a possible move elsewhere when he decides to opt out of his Heat contract and become a free agent this summer. He told the Associated Press that whenever he goes out in public he gets asked, “Are you staying or going?”

“If I see 10 people, it happens 10 times,” Wade said, according to AP. “Whether it’s a kid or a grown person, it doesn’t matter.”

Is he staying? Or, is he going?

It’s the million dollar question Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, president Pat Riley and owner Mickey Arison must deal with for the next few months as Wade weighs his options – and he has plenty of viable options.

Wade is among an elite group of NBA superstars, which includes LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Dirk Nowitzki and Joe Johnson, who can all exercise their rights to become free agents July 1. And for months, Wade has insisted that he won’t truly begin thinking about that process until this season ends.

Well, the Boston Celtics officially put Wade on the clock after the Heat was eliminated in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.

Wade has publicly and privately said that his preference is to stay in Miami, the franchise that drafted him in 2003, as long as the organization commits to an improved roster that will allow him to have another shot at winning a NBA title. Since winning the 2006 NBA Finals, the Heat have won just three playoff games and only three players remain from that championship team.

“There’s no pressure on me. I’ve said where my heart is. You just have to see things being done and accomplished,” Wade said at a postgame news conference after the Heat lost Game 5 in Boston.

The pressure falls on Riley to restock the Heat with better players and convince Wade – the 2008-09 NBA scoring champion – that the Heat are committed to winning a title now instead of three, four or five years down the road. Miami has 10 potential free agents this summer and will have plenty of cap space to sign two maximum contracts.

Can you see LeBron and D-Wade in South Beach?

“It’s funny to hear scenarios, for people to tell you that you know and you thought about it,” Wade told AP. “In New York, they kind of made me say, tried to make me say that I have thought about it or I have talked to LeBron. It’s amazing to me that people are inside my head that way. I don’t know.”

Wade’s likely destinations are Miami, Chicago, New York or L.A. (Clippers, not Lakers). Wade is a Chicago native and he’ll have Derrick Rose as his sidekick, making the Bulls very appealing. New York and L.A. don’t have a championship-caliber roster, but playing for a big-market team can extend the D-Wade brand to a larger audience.

Ultimately, Wade will probably end up back in Miami because of the following reasons: 1) South Beach, 2) the Heat can offer Wade more money, 3) South Beach, 4) Riley will lure at least one superstar to play with him (see Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire), and 5) South Beach.

Riley is a big Bosh fan and actually had the 6-foot-11 forward rated higher than Wade in the 2003 draft. Bosh is not likely to re-sign with Toronto so he’ll be the most coveted free agent because his decision will affect Wade’s and James’ next move.

So, before Wade makes up his mind, he’ll sit back and take his time before he puts his signature on his next big contract.

“Wait and see. Wade and see, if you want to be cool with it,” he concluded.

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When Pat Riley took over the reigns of the Miami Heat franchise in 1996, he got the ball rolling with two important building blocks: center Alonzo Mourning and point guard Tim Hardaway.

Thirteen years later, the Heat will honor Hardaway for helping Riley “get the ball rolling” in Miami as his No. 10 jersey will be raised in a ceremony on Oct. 28 prior to the season-opener against the New York Knicks. It will be the second jersey retired in Heat history. Mourning’s No. 33 went to the rafters last season.

It is fitting that Hardaway will be honored on a night when the Heat will play the Knicks, their Eastern Conference nemesis during the late 1990s. The Heat-Knicks seven-game wars were instant classics, and Hardaway was right in the middle of the very physical battles.

Tim Hardaway enjoyed his best season with the Heat in 1996-97, helping the team win 61 games.

Riley told the Associated Press that Hardaway is part of the “taproot and foundation for what we hope to be a long tradition of success here in Miami.”

Hardaway played 13 NBA seasons, nearly six of those with the Heat. He was a five-time All-Star and also played for Golden State, Dallas, Denver and Indiana during a career where he averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 assists per game. He finished his career 15,373 points and 7,095 assists, which ranks him 13th all-time.

He was 29 years old when he got traded to Miami. His best season with the Heat occured in the 1996-97 season when he averaged 20.3 points, 8.6 assists and made a career-high 203 3-pointers in 81 games. That Heat squad won 61 games and reached the conference finals, but lost to eventual champion Chicago.

Injuries to both knees robbed Hardaway of his foot speed during the latter stages of his career. But when healthy, the man nicknamed “The Bug” was one of the best PGs in the NBA. His best years came with the Warriors. From 1990 to ’95, Hardaway averaged more than 20 points and close to 10 assists.

To borrow a line from his commercial, “Timmy’s got skillz!”

In his prime, Hardaway could get by any defender, using his “Killer Crossover” dribble to embarrass the opposition. At 6-0 and 175 pounds, he was quick and powerful. He ran Don Nelson’s high-powered offense in Golden State to near perfection, teaming up with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond to form “Run TMC.”

Beyond the stat sheet, Hardway was also tough-minded and wasn’t afraid to take the big shot, two qualities that endeared him to Riley.

He also wasn’t afraid to open his mouth. Hardaway didn’t exactly endear himself to the gay community when he uttered his famous “I hate gay people” comment when asked how he would react if he played with an openly gay teammate. Hardaway later apologized for his insensitive statement.

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Pat Riley coached the Lakers and Heat to NBA titles and the Knicks to the NBA Finals.

The Armani suits. The slicked-back hair. The clenched fist.

Everything about the man exudes class and confidence. But Patrick James Riley is much more than just a confident, well-dressed basketball coach. He is the quintessential leader of men and master motivator. He is a champion. Six times to be exact. Once as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972 and five times as head coach. Only Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach has more.

As the ringleader of Showtime in the 1980s, he pointed the Lakers to NBA championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. The Lakers were the team of the decade because Riley pushed them to succeed. He pushed Magic Johnson to be the best. He extended Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career. He allowed James Worthy the freedom to run the break. He maintained excellence for nine seasons.

Most sports fans see Pat Riley as this celebrity coach who looks the part rather than plays the part.

That my be true but that is also what made him one of the most recognizable faces in sports and one of the richest. That look and whole aura was so unique and powerful that Michael Douglas channeled it to his role of Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wallstreet” where Douglas won an Oscar.

Greed is definitely good.

Riley’s resume is stout. He won 1,210 games which is third on the NBA’s all-time list behind Lenny Wilkens and Don Nelson. His 171 postseason victories rank second in league history, just seven behind Phil Jackson. Riley has averaged over 52 wins per season in his coaching career. In 1996-97 as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary, Riley was named one of the top 10 coaches of all time.

After Riley left the Lakers in 1990, he went to the New York Knicks and Gotham City was never the same. Madison Square Garden became Hollywood East. It didn’t take Riley long to establish the Knicks as an NBA elite. Patrick Ewing, the face of the franchise, bought into Riley’s system. In 1992, Riley’s band of bullies pushed Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to a tough seven-game series in what became as the blueprint of the style of play for the 1990s.

In New York, Riley played to his team’s strengths. What the Knicks lacked in style they made up for it with substance. More grit than glamour. Once Riley made a believer of Knicks captain Patrick Ewing, the rest of the team fell in line. Riley preached accountability, discipline and effort especially on the defensive end. Very rarely did opposing teams outworked a Pat Riley-coached squad.

The Knicks finally broke through in 1994 and reached the NBA Finals. The Knicks lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games and Riley became divorced from the Knicks. The separation was ugly. The Knicks vowed to beat Riley any chance they get and Riley vowed to finish the job somewhere else, but he needed to start from ground zero.

In 1996, Pat Riley became the president and coach of the Miami Heat. A franchise that has barely made a dent in the league. It was to be Riley’s greatest challenge. He got Alonzo Mourning to come aboard and be his centerpiece. He brought in Tim Hardaway to be his point guard. He traded for Eddie Jones. He signed Brian Grant. He drafted Caron Butler. He picked up hardnosed guys like Bruce Bowen, Keith Askins, P.J. Brown, Ike Austin and Anthony Carter to be his role players.

Despite all the hard work and shrewed moves, the best the Heat could do was the Eastern Conference finals. The losses started to wear down Riley, especially the playoff defeats at the hands of the rival Knicks. Riley knew he needed to retool.

After a disappointing 2002 season, Riley and Heat found themselves in the 2003 NBA draft lottery. Riley wanted forward Chris Bosh but Toronto nabbed him with the fourth overall pick. He settled for a combo guard from Marquette with a weird first name. Once Riley saw the potential in Dwyane Wade, he took a chance and traded three players (Lamar Odom, Butler and Grant) to the Lakers for center Shaquille O’Neal prior to the start of the 2004 season.

With Wade and O’Neal, Riley got his Magic and Kareem. He got his Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. Riley knew he had something special. He made sure Wade and O’Neal had the right pieces around them. It took him two years but Riley, the general manager, got it done…by any means necessary. Even if it meant shoving aside longtime friend Stan Van Gundy.

The Miami Heat started the 2006 playoffs with a classic Riley battle cry. Riley used a us-against-the-world mentally and hammered the point of being one unified strong team. Fifteen strong. The Heat carried this mantra all the way to the NBA Finals en route to winning the franchise’s first championship.

It was Wade’s first, Shaq’s fourth and Riley’s fifth.

When asked which title was the sweetest, Riley said the 2006 title. Heads turned. Then Riley explained it was the sweetest because it was the hardest.

He won with an unlikely cast of characters. It was a team somewhere in between his Lakers and Knicks. Just talented and gutty enough to push forward. Riley pushed point guard Jason Williams to tone his game down. He pushed Wade to be great. He convinced Mourning, Antoine Walker and Gary Payton to play secondary roles. And Riley masked Shaq’s deficiencies by limiting his minutes and allowed O’Neal to dominate in spurts, giving the opposition the illusion that The Diesel still had some left in the tank.

Comedian Chris Rock joked about who should be the leader of Black America.

“Coach Pat Riley!” Rock says. “He may not win it all but he’ll get you to the Promised Land!”

Chris Rock may have been delivered the line with tongue firmly planted on the cheek but it rings true about Pat Riley, the coach. He is a leader of men and his place in basketball history is now cemented after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.

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