Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade losing weight in preparation for next season

With LeBron James leaving town, the Miami Heat are going to have to rely heavily on Dwyane Wade next season.

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The good news for the Heat is that Wade is preparing for the extra workload by slimming down thanks to a little help from Ray Allen.

From Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

"“I’ll just say I’m lighter right now than I was when I came to training camp last year,” Wade said. “How about that? But I’m not where I want to be. I’m not there. I’m not at the training camp weight that I want to be at.”He said guard Ray Allen, who remains a free agent, influenced the decision to pay more attention to his health. Playing with him the last two seasons led to a change in diet.  Wade has cut down on foods high in starch and dairy products in favor of more vegetables.“One thing about sports is your teammates become influential,” Wade said. “The influence they have on you is second to none. A guy like Ray Allen has had [an influence] on a few of us in a sense of nutrition and how to do certain things has been pretty cool. The challenge in the summer, when it’s the time you just want to be lazy, travel the world and eat, and the challenge of not doing that and changing your diet … I did it for 30 days. It was very tough.”"

Wade missed 28 games this past season due to a maintenance program that was in place to protect the health of his knees. Wade won’t be able to remain on such a program with James’ absence, so trying to ensure his health by putting less weight on his oft-injured knees is a no-brainer.

Wade averaged 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists this past season. If the Heat are to remain a contender next season, those numbers are going to have to jump.  This diet is a step towards making that happen.