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First the Body Issue and now this. Dwyane Wade has been making headlines throughout the week, but nothing will beat this. The Vertical is reporting the superstar is reportedly signing a contract with his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have already started shopping other players around to other teams to allow for proper cap space for the addition of Wade.
Wade is a 12-time All-Star and has played for Miami since being drafted in 2003. His departure is interesting because it comes directly after Kevin Durant’s departure from Oklahoma City. During his time with the Miami Heat, Wade enjoyed three NBA Championships, was named NBA Finals MVP in 2006 and was named the NBA All-Star Team MVP in 2010. Despite an initially rocky season, Wade helped the Heat make the playoffs this past season. They were eliminated by the Toronto Raptors.
Honestly for Heat fans, this has to be a slap in the face. It’s extremely reminiscent of when Lebron James signed with the Heat and left Cleveland. Fans felt betrayed because there really isn’t a Heat team without Wade. With the health issues Chris Bosh is suffering from, chances are that he won’t be playing for very much longer. The team just locked up Hassan Whiteside to a four-year contract, but that was not enough incentive for the superstar to stay. It was clear Wade wanted to get paid after taking numerous payouts in his career to allow for other stars, like James and Bosh, to play in Miami. Losing Wade is a huge hit to their depth chart and their franchise as a whole.
What does Wade bring to the Bulls, though? Obviously, Wade is from Chicago so he’ll hopefully be getting some hometown love but at age 34, he is relatively old in basketball years. The team’s GM recently came out saying that they needed “younger and more athletic” guys which Wade is athletic, but he isn’t young. The team recently took a gamble with point guard Rajon Rondo but signing Wade is just confusing, to say the least.
If the Bulls are doing a complete roster overhaul, signing Wade to compliment Jimmy Butler could be the superstar talent that they need. If not, then the Bulls will possibly give $50 million dollars to someone they won’t utilize properly. Guess we’ll have to wait and see what this newly assembled Bulls does this season.
[…] has been a tough summer for Heat Nation. Miami said goodbye to one of their icons when Dwyane Wade announced that he had signed with his hometown team, the Chicago Bulls. Wade, unhappy with […]