It’s always a thing when a big time player joins a team and someone on that team is occupying their jersey number. Not long after joining the Bulls, Dwyane Wade was offered the no. 3 uniform by former occupant Doug McDermott, who will now be wearing no. 11.
According to McDermott, Wade never agreed to any kind of trade-off for the uniform except for getting McDermott a lot of good looks this season, via Nick Friedell of ESPN:
McDermott on what Dwyane Wade gave him for his number. Wade is wearing his customary #3 — McDermott is now wearing #11. “He still hasn’t given me anything,” McDermott said. “He told me he’s going to give me a lot of open shots. So that’s the trade-off.”
That’s not a bad trade-off for McDermott, who willingly gave up no. 3 upon the signing of Wade. This would have been hard not to do for someone in McDermott’s position. Otherwise he would have had to earn it by some other means.
If McDermott had any kind of personal ties to that number, which he did wear for all four years of college at Creighton, it should be nullified by the exact contents of Wade’s exchange offer. McDermott can be one of the great beneficiaries of having newcomers like Wade and Rajon Rondo on the team. A small and reasonable price to pay in order to make a future Hall of Famer feel welcome.
