The story is not that Dwyane Wade decided to join the Chicago Bulls over the Denver Nuggets; the real headline is that Wade chose to leave the Miami Heat after 13 years of service.

Sometimes, it takes an unexpected thing to happen far away in the sports world to fully understand what is really going on in your sports home.

Wade has gone through a similar situation in Miami that Von Miller is currently going through with the Denver Broncos.

Wade has been a superstar for the past 13 seasons with the Miami Heat. Wade was the centerpiece of three championships. If it wasn’t for Wade, Pat Riley would never have been able to recruit Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James or Chris Bosh to South Beach.

In the end, the problem was that the Heat never gave Wade what he was due, financially. Perhaps the best athlete ever to play in Miami was never actually the highest-paid player on the team — again, Wade was never the highest-paid player on the Miami Heat’s roster. Wade made the financial sacrifices for Miami to go after other superstars, and the Heat refused to pay up when called upon.

The relationship between Wade and Riley was damaged enough that the player chose dollars over ending his career with the only franchise he ever knew.

Although earlier in his career, Miller is in a similar situation with the Broncos. Von has been underpaid virtually his entire time in Denver, and there’s no questioning the fact that it was Miller who led the team to a Super Bowl championship — he was the Super Bowl MVP.

Now, it’s Miller’s time to get paid and feel respected by the organization, and much like Riley in Miami, John Elway has so far refused to give Miller his due.

Damage has already been done to the relationship between Elway and Miller. Honestly, this is a deal that should have been completed in March.

There is still time to repair things on the Broncos’ end. If Denver gives Miller a contract that is absolutely fair in guaranteed money, the two sides can forgive and forget. If not, though, Miller could leave out of spite, just like Wade did.

It’s time for the Broncos and Elway to learn from the Heat’s big mistake. Get the deal done and show Miller the respect and money he deserves.

For more talk on the Dwyane Wade situation, listen to the podcast below …

Catch the Weekend Drive with Sean Walsh Saturday and Sunday from 2p-4p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.