Dwyane Wade Approves Of Penny Hardaway Joining Shaquille O’Neal & Miami Heat

The Associated Press reports on Dwyane Wade welcoming Hardaway to Miami:

 Dwyane Wade is excited about seeing Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway together again.

And if it improves the Miami Heat, even better.

"What’s there to lose? It’s simple," Wade said Friday. "I think both sides win."

And since O’Neal gave the Heat his blessing when they asked how he felt about the prospects of reuniting with his former Orlando Magic teammate — they were together there in the mid-1990s — Wade is in approval as well.

"He resides here in Miami and I heard last year he was working out and wanted to come back," Wade said. "You hear it a lot. But I hear he’s in shape, he’s looking good and they’re giving him an opportunity."

My Quick Take: Wade is absolutely correct. The Heat has nothing to lose with this signing. Hardaway will only cost Miami the veteran’s minimum of 1.2 million dollars, which is the NBA’s equivalent of a ‘penny.’

Okay, that was a bad joke. Best case scenario, Hardaway becomes a reliable rotation player, backing-up all three perimeter positions. Worst case scenario, he spends the season chained to the bench, watching others play. Either way, the former All-Star will have little impact on the Heat’s precarious cap situation.

There’s little risk and some potential reward with this signing. Most importantly, the Heat has bought time to determine their long-term plans; basically, figuring out if they have a legit third star on the roster or if they have to trade for one. And finding another scorer to take pressure off O’Neal and Wade will determine how successful a season Miami has.

Is D-Wade right or wrong? Will the Penny signing benefit Miami? Get at us in the comment box below with your thoughts.

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