“And here’s the locker room,” Pat Riley was saying. “It still kinda smells like champagne if you sniff carefully. Anyway, let me introduce you to some of the guys.”
Shawne looked around. The Heat locker room wasn’t any nicer than any of his previous teams’ locker rooms, but what really mattered was the players in the locker room.
The GM took the Heat’s new acquisition into the training facility, where several Heat players were having various treatments undertaken on their bodies. Shaking hands With Justin Hamilton and Andre Dawkins, Shawne was not exactly star-struck. These guys were, somehow, lower than himself on the continuum of NBA players. He wanted to meet the big guns.
Riley must have anticipated Shawne’s thoughts, as he then said, “Why don’t I take you to the conference room where the big three are waiting to meet you?”
Shawne’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah, that would be great,” he responded, eagerness resounding in his voice. He didn’t know if he would be able to keep from fainting once he was standing in front of the King himself.
Before he knew it, they had walked to a closed door. “Go ahead, Shawne, open it,” Riley urged. Shawne complied.
There, in front of him, were Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and…
“Luol Deng!? Where’s LeBron?” Shawne exclaimed, staring incredulously at the player who he had not been expecting.
“In Cleveland, probably,” Luol responded, laughing. “You get me instead.”
Shawne’s head was spinning. Sitting in a random chair, he put his head in his hands as if warding off a headache. “Wait, wait…I signed here with the understanding that I’d be playing with Wade, Bosh, and LeBron. Not Wade, Bosh, and some washed-up reject. There has been some kind of horrible misunderstanding.”
“Watch who you’re calling a reject,” Luol warned, jovial demeanor suddenly turned cold.
Turning to the GM, Shawne pleaded, “If you waive me right now, there’s probably still time to work out a contract with the Cavs.”
Riley shrugged. “Sorry Shawne. We like your shooting. I think you’re going to be stuck here, so get used to it.”
“Luol frickin’ Deng,” Shawne muttered. “I can’t believe this.”