People close to LeBron James expect Dwyane Wade to join the Cavs, per report

With the Chicago Bulls going for a complete rebuild this summer, Dwyane Wade’s future with the team is in doubt. As a result, it’s been reported that Wade will be bought out of his deal with “the next few months.”

If and when that happens, people close to LeBron James think Wade will end up with the Cavs this season, per cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon.

From Vardon on The Wine and Gold talk podcast:

As of right now, people close to James are fairly confident that, at some point this year, Dwyane Wade is going to end up on the Cavs.

Vardon also noted the five people he’d classify as a source actually close to LeBron:

• LeBron himself
• Rich Paul, his agent
• Maverick Carter, his close friend and business partner
• Savannah James, his wife
• Adam Mendelsohn, his publicist

Wade coming to Cleveland makes sense. He’s close friends with James, could sign for only the 2017-18 season to keep their futures both open next summer and he could compete for a title instead of playing for a team going nowhere fast.

But a buyout has to happen first. Wade would have to take a pay cut for the buyout to happen. And don’t forget: He picked up his player option for money reasons. In theory, the Bulls could also use his expiring salary as a trade chip, although it seems unlikely they could get much back in return for him. So, if a buyout happens, it will likely take some time.

On the court, Wade’s fit with the Cavs would be interesting. Would he be comfortable coming off the bench? Could Cleveland actively limit his minutes in order to keep him fresh for the postseason? And how would he fit with the Cavs’ best lineups?

There’s a lot that has to happen before this can become even a possibility. It would be an interesting fit. But Wade coming to Cleveland to play with LeBron seems very much on the table.