Dwyane Wade is now a member of the Chicago Bulls and it still does not feel right. Wade was one of a few players in the league that everyone expected to stay with on team in his career. Nevertheless, negotiations broke down and Wade decided to go to his hometown team and make some more money.
Apparently, the general NBA fanbase are not the ones to be surprised by how everything happened. According to Wade (via ESPN and transcribed by Pro Basketball Talk), LeBron James and Chris Paul were just as shocked:
They was in disbelief that I didn’t have any deal that I wanted. Bron always said when we was in Miami, he always said, “D-Wade is going to be like Kobe. He’s going to get that Kobe deal.” So I think their disbelief was, “Why are you even a free agent? You shouldn’t even be.”
If you recall, Kobe Bryant received a massive contract a year after tearing his Achilles. The deal was widely scrutinized as everyone knew he was way past his prime and had little to offer. It worked out alright for the Lakers who were able to keep their franchise player for the entirety of his career while rebuilding. And it appears that NBA players took notice of the Lakers’ loyalty to Kobe even if it did not make business sense.
Dwyane Wade did not receive the same type of offer. On some level, he appears hurt by the Heat’s lack of loyalty. But it worked out for Wade as he gets to go to his hometown and still compete for the playoffs.
