The Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade agreed to a one-year contract worth $20 million to keep their prized shooting guard in town for at least one more season.

Wade is still a household name in most NBA circles, given his consistent success in the league since when he was first drafted by the Heat in 2003. He has brought three titles to the city of Miami, including the franchise’s first ever in 2006 when he was absolutely brilliant during the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

However, at 33 years old, and turning 34 this January, his decision to take a one-year deal instead of a longer term one is fascinatingly risky. It is no secret that the NBA salary cap is projected to skyrocket next offseason, where players will be getting paid even more handsomely than before. In fact, it has been very surprising to see so many younger players opt for long-term deals so far in this year’s free agency, when a lot could probably get away with betting on themselves (like Jimmy Butler did this past season), take a chance on having a great season this year and get rewarded well for it.

Wade sadly does not fit into this category for me. He has not been healthy for a while now, seeing as he has not played more than 70 games once in the last four years. While his PPG average hovered around 20 for most of the year (finishing at 21.5), his field goal percentage dropped significantly from 55 percent the previous season to 47 percent this past year. Add in the fact that he does not possess any kind of reliable outside jump shot (as evidenced by his career percentage of 29 percent from beyond the arc) and that he is a player who relies mostly on his speed and athleticism to penetrate into the lane and score, and he could very well be setting himself up to make less in the open market next year.

Of course, his name is still “Dwyane Wade”, and his reputation alone may be able to get some team (maybe the Heat) to offer him a crazy contract that nets him more money as a free agent next summer. But I would be extremely wary if I was managing any NBA team when it came to next year with players like Wade, who are a little older now and might want to be rewarded for the work they have done during their career instead of given the proper salary for the future work they might do for a team.

For now, this contract is a huge win for the Heat given Wade’s age and health issues recently, and he may have just done them a big favor — especially if his stats continue to slightly decline this season. Then he could be viewed as a year or two away from retirement from the NBA.

Dan Schultz is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.