The Chicago Bulls have done a complete 180 this offseason, trading Jimmy Butler for multiple young players in an effort to being the rebuilding process. So it doesn’t make much sense for 35-year-old future Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade to still be on the roster.
Most expect that the Bulls will eventually reach a buyout with Wade, and there will be no shortage of suitors once he’s on the free agent market. Those associated with LeBron James are reportedly confident that Wade will end up on the Cavaliers. The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson, however, reports that the Cavs aren’t a shoe-in just yet. The Lakers and the Heat are also apparently in the mix.
From Jackson:
Though ESPN reported that LeBron James’ camp expects Dwyane Wade to end up with Cleveland if he reaches a buyout with the Bulls, a Wade associate has been telling people that Miami and Los Angeles are also appealing destinations for Wade.
Chicago media has reported recently that no Bulls buyout talks have happened yet with Wade, and it’s unclear when they will happen.
Wade spent his first 13 NBA seasons with the Heat, leading them to three championships. He is still a huge part of the community, and his children are reportedly already enrolled at South Florida schools, after spending last year in Chicago.
I can officially confirm that Dwyane Wade’s kids are back at school in S. Florida, no longer in Chicago.
A reunion in Miami would also make sense from a basketball perspective, as he would be joining a team that basically brought back all its pieces after going 30-11 to finish last season. The addition of Wade, who averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 60 games last year for the Bulls, would likely vault them into the upper echelon of Eastern Conference contenders.
The young Lakers are a bit farther away from being competitive, but the appeal of living in Los Angeles is never lost on NBA players. Mentoring potential stars like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle may be exactly what Wade is looking for at this point in his career. There’s also the fact that the Lakers will have plenty of cap space next summer, and LeBron has been rumored to have interest in playing for them.. The addition of Wade could help pave the way for LeBron to join his buddy on the West Coast in 2018.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
