After losing LeBron James last offseason, the nightmare continues for the Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade has declined his $16.1 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports.

This may be a huge blow for the Heat, as they had been negotiating a new deal with Wade who had been asking for more money. It seems like negotiations between the two sides may have fallen apart, and Wade will test the free-agent waters.

Wade, 33, has spent his whole career in a Miami Heat uniform, but the three-time champion was looking for a large deal from the organization similar to the contract Kobe Bryant received from the Los Angeles Lakers as a reward for remaining with the franchise and winning multiple titles.

Wade has always wanted to retire with the Heat, but Miami has not given him what he has asked for. Now that he will become a free agent on July 1st, many teams are expected to actively pursue him.

The Lakers have been one team of interest in the 6’4” shooting guard out of Marquette. There is also the possibility that Wade winds up with his good, old friend LeBron James in Cleveland, but the Cavaliers don’t have the financial flexibility to add Wade. He would have to take a huge pay cut if he wanted to team up with James, which he is unwilling to do.

The Chicago Bulls are another team linked to Wade, as Chicago is Wade’s hometown. The Bulls had interest in Wade last summer as well, but Wade chose to be loyal to Miami. His loyalty, however, has not been gifted and heading to the Bulls seems very likely. However, the Bulls may have to execute a sign-and-trade to land Wade.

As Wade has opted out of his contract, Luol Deng has surprisingly opted in to his $10.1 million player option. Deng was acquired last year as a replacement for LeBron James, and the 30-year-old veteran averaged 14.0 point in his first season with Miami.

Deng believes the team will be good next season, which is why he opted in. But if Wade skips town, the Heat will have a rough time bouncing back. They missed the playoffs last season after recording 37 wins and 45 losses.

Aside from Wade, Miami needs to re-sign Goran Dragic as well. But with Wade opting out, will it greatly affect Dragic’s decision to re-sign? There are going to be a lot of question marks for the Heat this summer, and it sure seems like the team could be headed into a full-on rebuilding mode.