Fans miss greeting Wade on return to Miami

MIAMI - Heat fans missed a chance to make their case to Dwyane Wade Monday.

No big deal. Micky Arison did it for them.

As Wade moved closer to deciding his future, he returned to Miami and was seen entering the team's arena with team owner Arison, who wants to pay the six-time All-Star around $127 million for the next six seasons. The day started with a glitch - fans were told to show up at the wrong part of Miami's airport to greet Wade - but Heat officials remained optimistic their star player isn't going anywhere.

For his part, Wade was still contemplating his future. "Not there yet," Wade's agent, Henry Thomas, said Monday.

Thomas represents Wade and Chris Bosh, two-thirds of the triumvirate that's driving this unprecedented free-agent period, along with two-time MVP LeBron James.

There's speculation that the megastars will announce their decisions soon, especially after all three spent the latter part of last week hearing sales pitches from plenty of clubs.

Wade said last week that the decision wouldn't be simple, a stance Thomas reiterated on both his and Bosh's behalf Monday.

"They want to feel like they have evaluated everything about each situation," Thomas wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "It is fair to say, that the decision for both has been harder than either imagined."

For fans, just seeing Wade Monday was harder than they imagined.

The word went out early in the morning. Show up at 8 a.m. and welcome Wade back to South Florida, fans were told.

So they did.

Right time. Wrong location.

Instead of flying on a private jet, Wade took a commercial flight from Charleston, S.C., into one of Miami International Airport's main terminals. So about 50 Heat fans, as well as a handful of team employees, left without a glimpse of Wade.

"Bad information," Heat executive vice president and chief marketing officer Michael McCullough apologetically told the sign-waving group.

Wade is scheduled to appear at a youth basketball camp about 30 minutes north of Miami Tuesday, plus take questions with Alonzo Mourning about their charity weekend later this month. Hundreds of well-wishers are expected there, including dozens of children who are working on a "special" presentation for the 2006 NBA Finals MVP.