Wade might need offseason to recover

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Wade

MIAMI -- Heat guard Dwyane Wade had surgery Tuesday on his left shoulder and left knee, and the MVP of last season's NBA Finals might need the remainder of the offseason to fully recover.

Wade averaged 27.4 points this past season for the Heat, missing 31 games with a variety of injuries -- primarily a dislocated left shoulder suffered in February.

But it was the knee, not the shoulder, that pained Wade most once he returned to the Heat lineup with six games remaining in the regular season. Commonly called "jumper's knee," his condition caused him to wince while trying to dunk, and Wade often said that he didn't have enough explosiveness to be his usual self on the floor.

Recovery times from such a surgery vary; Heat guard Jason Williams had a similar procedure done last July and continued experiencing pain for much of the first half of this past regular season.

Miami coach Pat Riley said last week that if Wade had surgery on both the knee and shoulder, it "might take six months" for the guard to recover.

Either way, the knee surgery will likely keep Wade from joining USA Basketball for this summer's FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifying tournament for next year's Olympic Games in Beijing. The FIBA event in Las Vegas begins Aug. 22.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

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