With training camp for the Chicago Bulls just one week out from starting, the team still needs to address one particularly large elephant in the room: The club’s situation with vet guard Dwyane Wade.
Wade signed a deal to join the Bulls in free agency last summer, spending the entire 2016-17 season as a member of the franchise. He was under the impression that the team was focused on bringing back the core after the season, but, like the rest of the NBA, was suddenly blindsided when the Bulls reached agreement on a trade to send Jimmy Butler to Minnesota in June.
One day after that deal, the relationship between Wade and the team started to trend downhill. Buyout rumors have swirled in recent months, but neither side has yet to engage the other in talks, according to a report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley reports Wade is hoping the Bulls approach him first:
All eyes will be on Wade as he enters his 15th season, with the 6-4 hometown kid’s stay in Chicago possibly nearing its end. After fellow guard Jimmy Butler was dealt to Minnesota in a draft-night trade, Wade — who had exercised his $23.8 million option for the 2017-18 season — made it known in his circles that he wanted a buyout. According to one source, however, he has not gone to the front office with that request.
Don’t expect that to change. According to the same source, Wade is hoping the Bulls approach him first — with a suitable monetary amount.
As previously reported on Def Pen Hoops, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns will be among the teams to have interest in Wade if he hits the open market. But for now, Wade made it clear he plans on reporting to training camp with the Bulls.
“The only thing I’ll say is right now my plan is to be in training camp,” Wade told reporters last week.
