Wade ready to show what Heat can do on court

Dwyane Wade finally decided to bring his game to New York. Unfortunately for Knicks fans, the game was polo.

Decked out in a dark blue polo shirt with his number 3 on each sleeve, Wade was on hand at the Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge in Bridgehampton Saturday to toss out the ceremonial first ball.

While Knicks fans are disappointed that Wade decided to stay in Miami, he did consider Mike D'Antoni's team one of his final four, along with the Nets, Bulls and Heat. "I had a great meeting with the Knicks and I was intrigued to play in the mecca of basketball," he said.

Wade may have been intrigued but he wasn't convinced, because he ultimately decided to stay in Miami. Much like the Celtics offseason three summers ago, the Heat brought in two superstars - LeBron James and Chris Bosh - to join their in-house superstar. Adding Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to Paul Pierce paid immediate dividends for the Celtics: an NBA championship in June 2008.

Wade is hoping for the same result in Miami on a June evening next year.

"The goal is to achieve that success," he said. "No one knows how fast it will come; that's what we play the game for. We are going to get together, practice, play the game and start getting familiar with each other and let basketball take care of itself. We can't put the pressure on ourselves to say we have to be better than this team or that team. We have to get better every day as our team."

The thought of Wade and James, two of the league's premier offensive threats, conjures up images of other dynamic duos such as Michael Jordan- Scottie Pippen and Magic Johnson-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. To Wade, those comparisons are unnecessary.

"We are going to be Dwyane and LeBron," he said. "There have been a lot of great people that came before us that showed us how to do it, but we've got to figure out our own way. I think we will figure it out. We have been all-time friends since day one when we came into the NBA."

Wade could have another big three to contend with in the East. With Carmelo Anthony wanting out of Denver and Chris Paul wanting out of New Orleans, both could end up on the Knicks with Amar'e Stoudemire. Wade likes that idea and the rekindling of the great Knicks-Heat battles that were so prominent in the late '90s.

"You welcome any rivalry," Wade said. "Right now this is all about competition and fun. I want the best for Carmelo and Chris wherever they decide to go."