Dwyane Wade’s Chicago homecoming could be nearly over. The three time NBA champion and Chicago native opted into the second year of his contract with the Bulls earlier this year. He did so before the Bulls front office decided it was finally time to trade his Marquette pal Jimmy Butler and start fresh. When pressed by TNT’s David Aldridge to provide his reasons for opting in, Wade didn’t mince words. He said he had “24 million reasons”, alluding to the $23.8 million he’s due from the Bulls in the upcoming 2017-18 season.
But will he still want to collect all that money if it means playing on a rebuilding team picked to finish dead last in the Eastern Conference? Would he rather join forces with one of his banana boat friends on a roster more readily equipped to at least make a playoff run if not win a title? Going back to Miami – where he is still largely beloved – is another option. According to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, that’s becoming more and more likely. In a recent breakdown of the Bulls roster picked to finish last, Friedell made note of the Wade situation with the following:
“Dwyane Wade isn’t long for the organization’s future and is expected to reach a buyout agreement at some point in the next few months.” – Nick Friedell
During a press conference earlier this summer, Bulls VP John Paxson clearly stated that any kind of buyout for Wade would have to benefit the organization moving forward. In other words, the Bulls will let Wade go if he gives some portion of that $23.8 million back. Or perhaps the Bulls can agree to a sign and trade with a contending team that wants Wade, getting a young player and/or draft picks in return to better suit their rebuilding efforts.
“The next few months” is hard to interpret. Obviously, the Bulls can look to buy out or deal Wade before the trade deadline. This season, that deadline will fall on February 8, a couple weeks earlier than in recent years. They can still come to terms on a buyout after the deadline, which would allow Wade to sign on for another team’s playoff run as a free agent. One must wonder exactly where a Wade buyout sits on the front office’s current priority list.
If GarPax are wise (insert joke here) it should be near the top. The longer Dwyane stays in Chicago, the more games he plays. The more games he plays, the more the aging-but-still-useful guard contributes to wins that this lottery-hungry team doesn’t want. The more minutes he plays, the fewer minutes get distributed to an abundance of young guys in the backcourt who desperately need time to develop. GarPax and Fred Hoiberg need time to evaluate that development, too.
The Bulls front office has been largely quiet about the Wade buyout scenario since Paxson’s original comments back in June. Let’s hope all involved parties are silently working on a way to get Wade out of town as quickly as possible.
No offense, Dwyane. Much respect for the charity work and everything else you’ve done for the city of Chicago. But this homecoming was a bad idea from the get-go, from a strictly basketball standpoint. Time for everybody to move on. Make it happen.
