Miami Heat

Dwyane Wade was REALLY close to heading west instead of reuniting with his bestie LeBron James this off-season ... so says ex-NBA star Caron Butler.

TMZ Sports spoke with Tuff Juice about his convo with Wade before he made his decision to join the Cavs ... and he says Wade was seriously considering Miami, OKC and the L.A. Lakers.

Butler breaks it down -- L.A. made sense considering Wade's movie star wife Gabrielle Union, OKC would've been a good basketball move, and Miami's his first NBA home.

Good news, Cleveland ... Chris Bosh thinks LeBron James and Dwyane Wade's Cavs reunion will produce championship fruit.

It's no secret, Bosh is very tight with Bron and Dwyane --"they're my guys" -- and was a key part of the squad back in the Miami Heat championship days.

It's gotta suck to be left out of the CLE reunion (health issues), but when we saw Bosh and his wife leaving Craig's restaurant in L.A. on Monday night, he couldn't have been more supportive.

BTW, don't close the book on Bosh's career just yet -- he told us back in July his health is great and he's still thinking about a future in basketball.

Is Dwyane Wade goin' home to Miami?

With all the whispers of him being bought out by the Chicago Bulls ... we had to ask when we got D-Wade and Gabrielle Union leaving Catch in L.A.

Wade played it super coy -- just like when we asked about a potential LeBron reunion -- but he also couldn't stop cheesin' ... which kinda makes us think he's heard from ex-Heat bro, Udonis Haslem.

Hard to say which way he's leanin' ... but the NBA superstar does still call South Beach home, FYI.

Rap star Kid Ink better hope the L.A. Clippers can win without Chris Paul next year, 'cause if they don't ... he's gonna become a walking TMZ billboard!!

The "Supersoaka" spitter is a HUGE Clips fan! Our camera guy, a big Miami Heat supporter. So when we ran into K.I. out in NYC, we tested his confidence in the team with a wager:

If the Clippers finish with a better record than the Heat next season, our photog will have to get a tattoo of Kid Ink's Batgang crew logo permanently etched on him. But if the Clips end up below Miami in the win column, the rapper's gotta get the TMZ logo tatted on him!!

FYI -- the MIA won 41 games last season. The LAC, 51 ... but that was with CP3.

For being such high stakes, the dude doesn't seem worried one bit. On the other hand, he already has like, a million tattoos. So what's one more?

Pat Riley wishes nothing but the best for LeBron James in his 7th straight NBA Finals appearance ... but he doesn't want us to forget Magic Johnson's number.

We got Pat Saturday in Malibu, where we asked if he was wishing LeBron luck for the NBA Finals.

Even though Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber doesn't want him to answer ... Pat -- who LeBron left in Miami to rejoin the Cavs -- breaks it down with half shade and half well-wishing.

Miami Heat star Udonis Haslem says the 2008 Boston Celtics are a bunch of petty whiners who need to GET OVER their beef with Ray Allen ... and he's not mincing his words.

Of course, Allen famously left the Celtics after the '11-'12 season and joined up with the Miami Heat -- and guys like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo are still upset he left without saying goodbye.

Haslem went on the "Joe Rose Show" on WQAM and said those guys need to grow up. He also took a moment to remind the guys the Miami Heat owned them during the height of the rivalry.

Turns out, Antonio Brown is kind of a freak athlete.

The NFL star hit the basketball court with Miami Heat stud Hassan Whiteside on Thursday for a little 1-on-1 action at the Heat practice facility ... and the WR looked pretty good!

He hit some shots. He drove to the lane. Ball handling was good.

The only real issue he had was when Hassan actually tried ... it looked like a father playing ball in the backyard vs. his kid.

The Miami Heat team jet slid on the runway in a Milwaukee airport after landing Wednesday night due to heavy snow ... but fear not, no one was hurt.

It all went down around 9:20 PM at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. The jet was carrying the Miami Heat team and staff.

The team tweeted about the incident.

"Upon landing in Milwaukee tonight the team plane slid while taxiing but never left the pavement. Everyone on board has deplaned and is ok."

The Heat are set to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

Dwyane Wade ain't leaving Miami empty-handed ... 'cause his former teammate, Dorell Wright, just hooked him up with an awesome custom art piece to bid him farewell.

Wright -- who played with Wade for 6 years on the Heat -- hit up Michael Farhat of ART Mobb ... and commissioned him to make a one-of-a-kind art piece for his "big brother," D. Wade.

The vision? Farhat told us it's "Wade reflecting on the success and hard work he put in Miami and using that as motivation for Chicago."

The project -- which took 7 hours to complete -- was spray painted on a piece of plexiglass using handmade stencils ... and it's dope.

Dwyane Wade bolted Miami for Chicago ... but he's still kickin' it off the court with superstar ex-Heat teammate and BFF Chris Bosh ... bro-ing out at C.B.'s Malibu mansion.

The former teammates linked up in the 'Bu Wednesday for some quality man time ... gettin' in a bunch of activities, from jammin' out on the drums and guitar to hiking (while their wives tagged along and drank sangria).

If anyone thought there was a drop of bad blood between D. Wade and Bosh ... this video surely puts that to rest.

Sorry Heat fans ... and Gabrielle Union ... the rumored return of LeBron James to the Heat just ain't gonna happen -- so says Senator Marco Rubio.

Fresh off the campaign trail, Rubio was all about talkin' hoops in D.C. Tuesday -- praising Dwyane Wade for beasting out in the playoffs.

But when we brought up LeBron, Rubio busted out the real talk -- saying James would be treated like the ENEMY if Miami clashed with Cleveland in the Eastern Conf. Finals ... despite the championships he brought to the city in the past.

DJ Khaled wants to be the best ... NBA honcho in the world ... 'cause the man with the major key says he'd love to unlock a piece of the Miami Heat ... as a minority owner.

Get nervous, Cleveland ... 'cause if LeBron James is testing the waters about a return to Miami, Gabrielle Union says her husband's team would "welcome him back with open arms."

We got Mrs. Dwyane Wade out in Beverly Hills and had to ask her thoughts on a possible reunion of the Big 3 ... mostly due to the rumors LeBron is already fed up with the Cavs.

Gabby's definitely into the idea ... and why not? Bron and Wade did win 2 championships together.

Plus, LBJ and D-Wade are super BFFs ... they even worked out together in Miami in the middle of the NBA season ... rubbing some CLE people the wrong way.

Miami Heat star Joe Johnson says he WON'T be distracted by the Lakers off-the-court drama when they face off at Staples Center Wednesday night ... but lets us know it would NEVER happen with the Heat.

The 7-time All Star was walking in Bev Hills before tonight's game when we asked him for his take on the D'Angelo Russell, Nick Young situation.

Gerald Green allegedly punched a security guard in the eye during his rampage at a Miami condo complex before being restrained and sent to a local hospital ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports, Green showed up at the front desk of his condo with bloody hands. He allegedly asked the clerk to call an ambulance before walking out to the valet area where he collapsed.

Green then got back up, walked inside and when a male security guard tried stopping him from getting back into his condo, he punched the guy in the face.

For the record, officials tell us there was "no evidence to support the punch" ... meaning the alleged victim had no visible injuries and there was no footage available to back up the claim.

Cops say the security guard did NOT want to press charges at the time. However, it doesn't mean the person won't pursue a lawsuit against Green at a later time.

According to the report, Green was "very loud and verbally combative." As we previously reported, witnesses say he was screaming in the lobby. Green was eventually restrained, placed in handcuffs and taken to the hospital.

Miami Heat guard Gerald Green was unconscious and bleeding when someone at his condo complex called 911 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We obtained the call ... made Wednesday morning ... in which the caller tells 911, "I have a resident that just passed out. He’s bleeding. He just passed out right now."

The operator informs the caller that help is on the way -- and gives instructions on how to treat Green until emergency personnel arrives.

The nature of Green's illness is still unclear -- but as we previously reported, multiple people at the complex tell us they saw him acting strange in the lobby and screaming from the top of his lungs.

Once Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue arrived to the scene, they requested assistance because of a “combative patient” ... so says the Miami Herald.