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Bulls shooting guard Dwyane Wade has long been rumored to be a candidate for a buyout from the last year of his contract that was scheduled to pay him $23.8 million this upcoming season, and it appears that the deed is done.
The Bulls and Dwyane Wade have reached agreement on a buyout, per sources.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 25, 2017
Per source, Wade gave up in the neighborhood of $8-10M of the $23.8M the Bulls were contractually obligated to pay him.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) September 25, 2017
This is obviously interesting, as LeBron James and Wade remain very close from their days together on the Miami Heat, and it’s being reported that the Cavaliers are the frontrunners to add him, with the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder all in the running as well.
Cleveland's clear frontrunner with LeBron James, but Wade may take a little time to decide, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/onXPOeaYfG
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 25, 2017
Sources: Cleveland, San Antonio and Miami are leaders for Dwyane Wade post-Bulls buyout. OKC could become factor too.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 25, 2017
Joe Vardon is reporting from his end that a source close to LeBron James expects Wade to sign with the Cavs:
Wade, 35, is a close friend to LeBron James and won two NBA titles with him when the two played for Miami Heat. A source close to James expects Wade to ultimately choose Cleveland, and ESPN is reporting the Cavs are the "clear" favorite to get him.
There’s a lot of smoke, and a lot of fire connecting Wade to the Cavaliers, and it makes sense. As his career winds down, it makes sense that he’d be chasing one last title, and doing so with one of his best friends in the league only makes sense.
The Cavs only have $2.55 million remaining of their mid-level exception to pay Wade with, and the Heat and Spurs can both outbid the Cavaliers by about $1 million or $2 million more, per Vardon’s report.
The Spurs have a crowded backcourt of their own with Tony Parker, Patty Mills, Dejounte Murray, Danny Green and Manu Ginobili, while the Heat could probably offer Wade a starting spot if they so chose, though Dion Waiters might not take that particularly well.
The fit would be fascinating in Cleveland - would Wade start? How many minutes should he be getting at this point of his career? Can he help on defense at all at this point? Furthermore, the four players set to receive minutes in the backcourt appear to be fairly entrenched in Isaiah Thomas (when healthy), Derrick Rose, J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver. Who’s the odd man out?
If this signing does indeed come to pass, we’re going to have a ton of questions about Wade’s fit. Tyronn Lue is going to have a hell of a job coming up with answers.