Dwayne Wade Debacle

(Wades jersey being used to advertise the new Nike design)

When it comes to Mr.Wade these days, you either still love him for the legend that he was or you despise him for no longer being that legend while making more money than he ever has. 

My frustrations of how Wade has performed and acted since coming to Chicago, stems for the long term admiration I had for this man. Spending many of my childhood weekends in the Oak Lawn area, I walked the GYM hallway where Dwades Varsity photo hangs. I've attended church services in the GYM where he once played. This man gave hope to so many Chicago area kids when he was drafted in 2003, no one in that area was talking about Lebron James.

We all know Dwayne Wade opted in for the second year of his Bulls contract, valued at 23.8 million dollars. With the way the market went this year, it would be ignorant to question his decision. As he would've likely received less than ten percent of that elsewhere. It was widely suggested that the only way Wade was going to turn down the deal was if Jimmy Butler were to be traded, signifying a rebuild. It was not so much surprising or upsetting that Wade would decide to look out for his families future by taking the over compensation that had been offered to him at this stage in his career, but how he did it. 

Dwayne had until several days after the draft to inform the Bulls organization on if he would be taking his player option or not. With the Jimmy Butler rumors picking up steam, Dwade made a selfish move in an already selfish situation to opt in prior to draft night and any potential Butler trades. Whether you believe in coincidence or not, Wade and Butler were vacationing together in Europe at the time in which Wade relayed his decision to the Bulls front office. Making it beyond obvious to me that this was nothing less than a full on strong arming attempt at forcing the Bulls front office to run it back for another alphas season. The mistake of paying Wade close to twenty five percent of the teams cap was why the Butler rumors were in full force to begin with. The Bulls put themselves in a position where being mediocre once again or starting a rebuild were their only legitimate options. 

 

Wades declaration of  "24 million reasons" why he would return to Chicago did not halt any of the Jimmy Butler trades but did likely hinder the value in which the Bulls could receive as they had been forced into a corner and all possible suitors were fully aware of this. 

Shortly after the Butler trade was finalized there were rumors of Dwade requesting a buyout. Having already "secured the bag" by accepting a contract he is no longer capable of fufilling his end of, Wade was now looking to be paid to leave his home town team to contend elsewhere. In which the Bulls front office publicly responded to by saying any buyout would have to be "advantageous" for the team. While adding "we truly believe that Dwayne with handle the situation professionally". 

That is where the conundrum gets even more intriguing. Do the Bulls benefit at all from keeping an unhappy veteran who publicly belittled the Bulls young players last year? Does Dwayne's presence hinder the development of LaVine who is expected to return to the court sooner rather than later? Can Wade put his ego aside to help mentor this extremely young roster? Or would Wade steer them in the wrong direction as he did with Butler's growing ego? 

(Blakeney and Wade getting some work in after Wade's camp for kids)

 

For the first time in months Dwade gave me something positive to throw his way. After spending his offseason touring the world spreading his brand and grooming his ego, while avoiding mentoring the "baby Bulls" in the Summer League as many veterans do (Rondo, Vince Carter). He took to Twitter to show praise to Antonio Blakeney, saying "I love when a young guy is thirsty for knowledge". Blakeney is one of two Bulls players on a 2 way contract this year.

(Blakeney congratulating Wade on one of his public service awards)

Blakeney had reached out to Wade a few weeks prior, only to be overlooked/ignored during one of Wades Twitter fan response sessions. Antonio later deleted the post, probably to escape the embarrassment of a teammate publicly ignoring him for both himself and Wade. But as the photo of the two working out together shows, it's clearly water under the bridge. 

(Both look to have put in a lot of work, or jumped in a pool)

Hopefully this is a sign of Wade accepting his role on this young Bulls team to mentor and guide the young guards with knowledge only a top five shooting guard of all time can. Hopefully this is only the start of the extra time Dwayne puts into his fellow teammates. There is no telling how long Wade will be a Chicago Bull, whether that's via "advantageous" buyout or being involved in a three team deal to Cleveland in a Kyrie trade, as I've been pushing the last few weeks. There is always the possibility he is not moved all year in attempts to bring in more revenue. But with that timeline being uncertain the only thing we can ask of him is to put his ego aside and give his all to our young core. I truly hope this is a sign of positive things to come and not just a strategic move to improve his image. These young guys look up to him as an all time great, as well as they should. Let's hope he doesn't disappoint them in a similar fashion to how he has disappointed the majority of Chicago fans.