Dwyane Wade met with Bulls management this weekend in what’s being described as a ‘positive’ player exit meeting, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Wade, who has yet to decide whether to pick up his $23.8 million player option for next season, originally met with the Bulls back in April, but this meeting likely included more in-depth dialogue on the future of the franchise.
Following from K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
After sitting courtside in Cleveland for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Dwyane Wade met with Bulls management in Chicago on Saturday for his season-ending player exit meeting, sources said.
Similar to Jimmy Butler, Wade met briefly with management on April 29, the day after the Celtics eliminated the Bulls from the playoffs. Both sides agreed to meet more substantively after taking some time to decompress.
The meeting, which was described as positive and came on the heels of a similar meeting with Butler earlier last week, covered a wide variety of topics, including the possibilities for next year’s team, one source said.
Wade has until June 27 to officially decide on his $23.8 million player option to return to the Bulls next season. The Bulls haven’t pressed Wade on his decision out of respect for the process. But the franchise has been preparing for Wade to opt in all along, and most league observers believe Wade will return.
Dwyane Wade shockingly left Miami, his home for the first 13 seasons of his career, to join the Bulls last summer in free agency. Wade appeared in 60 games with Chicago this season, averaging 18.3 points — the least amount since his rookie season — in 29.9 minutes per contest, a career-low mark.
He can choose to remain with the Bulls for another season and become a free agent next summer, an option that would pay $23.8 million, or opt to enter unrestricted free agency on July 1 in search of a new deal.
The Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks were two teams that expressed a sincere desire to add Wade last summer.
