Chicago Bulls: Dwyane Wade and the homecoming that never was

After only a year with the Chicago Bulls, Dwyane Wade is moving on.

Dwyane Wade never came home.

Not really, anyways.

Although he signed with the Chicago Bulls last July, bringing him back to the place he was born and raised, the homecoming he was looking for did not happen.

For starters, it was pretty clear Wade only left the Miami Heat as a way to stick it to president Pat Riley for not prioritizing his contract. Had his deal been taken care of from the start, and had the money been right, the Bulls would not have even made it onto his radar.

But Riley wanted to try and “land a whale” in Kevin Durant. He wanted to make sure that Hassan Whiteside stuck around. He figured Wade would always be there, like Udonis Haslem. A “Heat Lifer.” He took him for granted. And by the time he was ready to negotiate, Wade had had enough.

So home to Chicago Wade went, joining Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo to form the Three Alphas.

The fans did not exactly welcome him with open arms though. While a small percentage felt a sense of excitement, it was more about beating out an Eastern Conference foe.

As for the rest? Some threw around words like “washed” and told Miami to “take him back,” while others just seemingly ignored his arrival — despite the fact that their team had just landed a NBA superstar.

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Never mind that merely one season prior, he was still averaging 19.0 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals a game in 30.5 minutes of play. Thirty-five years old or not, the guard could clearly still ball.

Not much changed throughout the season either. The appreciation never came. Not even from his own teammates, aside from Butler. Rondo took digs at him over social media. The younger guys mouthed off on the fact that Wade expected so much of them, yet rarely did much at practice himself.

Then the postseason came and went, where the three-time champion averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 31.7 minutes per game over six matchups with the Boston Celtics.

Any praise for Wade? Nah.

And when it came time for him to opt-in to the second year of his contract? Many were crossing their fingers he would turn down the $24 million and keep it moving.

Of course, that is not at all what happened. The guard gladly took his payday from the Bulls, and looked forward to another season alongside new best friend, Butler.

Cue the heavy sighs heard around Chicago.

Fast forward to this past weekend, when it was announced that Wade and the front office had reached an agreement regarding a buyout. Did fans flinch? Were goodbyes written out? Was there a single “I’ll miss you” voiced?

Nope.

Dwyane Wade joined the Chicago Bulls for all the wrong reasons, and the homecoming that never was followed suit. But here is hoping that whenever he ends up next… back with the Miami Heat, joining LeBron James once again via the Cleveland Cavaliers, or even next to Carmelo Anthony on the Oklahoma City Thunder, he finds the love he deserves once more.

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