Why the Bulls signed D Wade

Amidst all of the excitement and celebration that followed the Bulls signing of free agent Dwyane Wade, many Bulls fans, including myself, found themselves asking, why? The Bulls are a franchise that seemed to be heading towards a rebuild. Star point guard Derrick Rose was traded to the Knicks, in addition they also lost key big men Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol to free agency. With last year’s starting lineup in shambles and being a franchise that did not see a playoff birth for the first time since 2008 in Fred Hoiberg’s first year as head coach of the team last season, the franchise seemed poised for a rebuild. So, the Bulls went out in free agency and signed veteran point guard Rajon Rondo to a one-year deal, not exactly what you’d expect from a team looking to add youth to their lineup. Rondo led the league in assists last season, something Chicago hopes he will do this season as well. This free agency move left many Bulls fans scratching their heads, why would a team looking to add youthful, young talent to build up the franchise go and sign one of the oldest point guards in the league? On the surface this move didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but with the departure of the hometown kid in Derrick Rose as well as the majority of last year’s starting roster, the Bulls needed to find a reason to keep people watching. Rondo, despite his age, is what the Bulls need out of their point guard. They have one of the premiere two-way guards in the game in Jimmy Butler, they need someone who is able to move the ball around the court and facilitate offense to play alongside him, and that’s what they got. The Bulls knew this move gave them at least a fighting chance at the 8 seed in the weaker Eastern Conference come the end of next season which would at least mean another playoff berth for the franchise. Fans in Chicago were skeptical of what direction the franchise was headed, until the Bulls went out and got their fan base another hometown kid, Dwyane Wade. Wade just finished his 13th season in the NBA, all of which he played with the Miami Heat. Despite leading the franchise in total points scored, assists, and steals he has never been the highest paid player on the roster in his time in Miami. When free agency hit, the Heat made signing Kevin Durant a priority until he announced he would be joining forces with the splash brothers in Golden State. Then, the Heat shifted their attention to signing Hassan Whiteside. When it came to re-signing Dwyane Wade, who had been the face of the franchise for more than a decade, they offered him a 2-year, $40 million deal. Feeling disrespected by the Heat not making him a priority and once again offering him a deal in which he would not be the highest paid player on the roster, Wade began shopping his options. He received 2 year $50 million deals from Milwaukee and Denver, but seemed adamant to go play for either franchise. The Bulls were in preliminary discussions with Wade when he first began evaluating his various options but were ruled to not be a legitimate contender to land the star guard as he seemed to near a decision. Wade and Miami seemed to be in a standoff when it came to money. The night before he made his decision, reports surfaced of a meeting with the Bulls that had to be cancelled due to travel complications. Ultimately, Chicago offered him a 2 year $47 million deal and Wade took it. Fans in Chicago were beyond excited to hear the 3-time champion would be in a Bulls jersey come next season. Wade is a 34-year-old shooting guard, the same position as all star Jimmy Butler. Logistically, for a team that appears to be headed for a rebuild in the next year or two this was the opposite of the deal you would expect them to make. Tactically, the trade does not offer Chicago an ideal situation. Wade is the same position as Butler, forcing Jimmy Butler to play small forward this coming season. But really, the bottom line is they need a shooter. The NBA is increasingly becoming a shooter’s league and Rondo and Wade are both under 30% from 3-point range for their careers, Butler isn’t much better, at 31%. I believe there are a few underlying reasons they could have signed him. The first being that Jimmy Butler is only 26 years old and with the departure of Derrick Rose, he has just been handed the reigns of the franchise. Only problem being, Jimmy Butler has no experience leading a team. He has even come out and said that it’s new to him, he’s never been the best player on any team he’s played on, including his college years at Marquette, and has never had to bear the responsibility of leading a team. That being said, it’s also a challenge he welcomes with open arms and plans to lead this team to be the best they can be. I think the Chicago Bulls organization looked at the opportunity to sign Chicago native and Marquette alum Dwyane Wade to replace their hometown kid that fans would undoubtedly fall in love with as well as provide him the opportunity to mentor a young Jimmy Butler. This would all make sense as in 2 years when Wade’s contract expires Butler will be better equipped to lead a team that, ideally, would be full of lots of young talent from the next 2 drafts. The other theory surrounding this free agency signing is the idea that the Bulls would trade Wade to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a couple of their younger role players as well as draft picks. When Wade hit free agency this year, the Cavs didn’t have the cap space to offer him a contract worth him leaving Miami. However, they would be able to trade for him and giving Chicago some of their young role players such as Iman Shumpert would free up the cap space for the Cavaliers to take on Wade’s contract so he could play with LeBron for his last couple years in the league and allow him to compete for a championship, which is something he wouldn’t likely be able to do in his 2 years in Chicago. This would be a move I believe the Cavaliers would be interested in because, as we know, LeBron left Cleveland years ago to chase a title with his friend Dwyane Wade in Miami and has expressed an interest in playing with him again before his career is over. For the Bulls, this move would greatly help the rebuilding process allowing them to stockpile a wealth of young talent in the upcoming drafts and hopefully allow this team to get back to being a legitimate contender once again. Regardless of the reason behind this free agency acquisition, one thing’s for sure- Chicago is very excited to see Dwyane Wade in a Bulls jersey this coming season and it’ll be interesting to see what direction this franchise goes in the coming years.