Chicago Bulls: The Ideal Destination For Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade has grown frustrated with the Miami Heat in free agency. Could his hometown Chicago Bulls offer him the ideal situation?

There are certain players in the NBA that you simply can’t imagine in different uniform then you’ve been used to. Despite rumors of guys such as Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki possibly signing or being traded elsewhere throughout their lengthy careers, they stayed put and it just seemed right.

Dwyane Wade also falls into that category. For the past couple of summers, he has hinted at testing the free agency market, but it was much because of a deeper plan to ultimately receive more money from the Miami Heat.

Wade has spent all of his 13 seasons in Miami and delivered three championships to the organization during the process of becoming an iconic figure to the city as a whole.

By many, he could be described as a Heat-lifer and was anticipated to play these last four or five seasons of his career before calling it quits and wandering off into the sunset being known as the greatest player to ever wear a Miami Heat jersey.

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There is no doubt that Wade will go down as the best player in the franchise’s history, but whether or not he spends the last years of his illustrious career there has been called into question.

Similar to last summer, Wade opted out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent.

This didn’t catch many by surprise because it was evident that he would take advantage of the rise in the salary cap. Now however, the negotiations have changed since the Heat signed center Hassan Whiteside to a max-contract.

Wade reportedly is looking for a two-year $50 million deal and the most Miami will offer him as of now is two-year, $40 million. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst tweeted that the two teams who can offer the deal Wade desires and have his attention are the Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets.

Windhorst included in his article on the matter:

"Wade is from Chicago and he considered the Bulls in free agency in 2010. The Nuggets have been recruiting Wade since July 1 and also have had talks with Heat free agent and Wade friend Udonis Haslem. Haslem nearly joined the Nuggets in 2010 before re-signing with the Heat."

At this point, Chicago would offer Wade the better situation. For one, Wade would stay in the Eastern Conference, which automatically gives him more likely of a chance at contending in the playoffs.

The Nuggets are a team that is on the rise, but the addition of Wade to the lineup wouldn’t move them much further in the standings (finished 11th last season with a 33-49 record).

In a gauntlet that is the Western Conference, Wade could help get closer to the 40-win mark, but the best-case scenario would be getting to the first round as the eighth seed and ultimately being swept.

As for Chicago, they could roll out a lineup that included Rajon Rondo, Wade, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson (if they don’t trade him) and Robin Lopez. That lineup has much more of a chance to make some noise in the East than the Nuggets’ potential lineup in the West.

Signing Wade could shed some much-needed light on the Windy City after having a sub-par free agency period thus far. It would be another great story of a superstar returning to play for his hometown team.

Wade’s biggest challenge would of course be his best friend in LeBron Jamesm who delivered a championship to his hometown team this season. Could Wade be up for the same challenge?

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We’ll have to wait and see.