Ira Winderman: Dorell Wright giddy over Heat opportunity for brother Delon: ‘To see this happen, is nuts’

Dorell Wright isn’t the agent for Miami Heat buyout addition Delon Wright, but he is Big Bro, which automatically made him proactive at the moment of truth.

And for as much as Delon has delighted in becoming part of his brother’s former team, if you didn’t know better, you might think Dorell was the one handed a Heat uniform last week.

As he spoke from his Southern California home this past week, the excitement in Dorell Wright’s voice was undeniable, probably similar to his exuberance last month when he ran into Heat President Pat Riley and Heat owner Micky Arison at the Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood at the fete honoring Udonis Haslem for his Heat jersey retirement.

It was at that moment, with his brother in a no-win situation on a going-nowhere Washington Wizards roster, that Dorell, without prodding, sprung into action.

“It was,” Dorell tried to explain, “all organic.”

Only it wasn’t, Dorell, at 38, tired of seeing Delon, at 31, missing out.

“When I just came down for UD’s event, the first night, the dinner, I see Riles and Micky standing there,” Dorell continued. “So I go show my love. I beeline straight to those guys, because any time I see those dudes, I respect them that much where I’m going to go and make sure I speak right away.

“So I was just having a conversation with Pat and Micky, and then you know they’re always going to ask me how my family is doing and how Delon is, just general conversation. I was just telling ’em, like, ‘Hey, man, Delon is doing well.’ ”

But not well enough, not with the Wizards in yet another rebuild and with Delon’s skill set more suited for a contender.

So when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra joined Riley and Arison in that conversation, Dorell decided to add one more assist to the 270 he contributed in his six Heat seasons.

“I said, ‘I just see Delon one day playing here,’ ” Dorell said. “Because I’ve been telling Delon this for years, every time it’s free agency, I’m like, ‘Dude, I just see you playing in Miami. You’re the perfect fit for that type of style, what they do. That’s your type of situation — the structure.’

“Everything that the Heat come with, that is the perfect structure and organization for Delon. So I’ve always told him that.”

From 18-year-old neophyte to Heat 2006 champion to a tour through the NBA that eventually landed him back with the Heat for the team’s 2016 playoff run, Dorell had been a Heat mix of wide-eyed optimism and effervescence, factors that currently have him working for NBC Sports Bay Area as a Golden State Warriors studio contributor.

But this feel-good moment of Delon’s signing even got the best of big brother.

“To see this happen, is nuts,” Dorell said. “Because we knew it was a potential for him to get bought out. But the teams that he was talking about, that was cool. And then one day, he was like, ‘The Heat might be an option.’ I was like, ‘Really?’

“So it’s just amazing to see how it all came together, somebody they’ve been knowing since he was 12 years old. I’m just super proud and excited for him to get this opportunity to be coached at a high level, then play for something. And he just deserves it, man. He’s just such a good kid, pro’s pro. So for him to get this opportunity to play for an organization and a coach that’s going to hold him to a high standard and really want him to come in there and compete at a high level, you can ask for nothing better than that.”

By the end of his career, Dorell found himself bouncing from team to team, country to country, the Warriors, 76ers, Trail Blazers, China, Bosnia, Germany, Russia, and, now, at 38, watching his oldest son play for the same high school coach who coached Dorell.

“I just get to be dad in the stands,” he said with a laugh.

As for Delon, even with just a rest-of-the-season, minimum-scale deal, Dorell sees it unlocking an extended NBA future.

“I think this right here, because Delon is in his ninth year, I think this opportunity is going to rejuvenate his career,” Dorell said. “I think this opportunity for him is going to get him some more years on the back end, just because he’s going to get in tip-top shape, he’s going to be coached and he’s going to be motivated to push himself even better and just squeeze another five, six years.

“That’s my vision. That’s what I see as big bro.”