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Dwyane Wade Reportedly Still Undecided About His Chicago Bulls’ Player Option

By Ernest Shepard
Published on: 06:15 PST, Jun 15, 2017

Is Dwyane Wade going to opt-out of his Chicago Bulls‘ contract? The answer to that question remains unknown as the deadline draws closer for Wade to make his decision. The date of the Dwyane Wade’s deadline to opt-in or out of his contract is June 27, which is five days after the NBA draft.

What Dwyane Wade chooses to do will have a huge impact on how the Bulls handle their business during the offseason, especially in free agency and the trade market. With the needs the Bulls have, the NBA draft can go into a couple of different directions.

If the Chicago Bulls were to take a center with the No. 16 pick, the argument would be because their backup, Cristiano Felicio, can leave as a restricted free agent. If the Bulls take a point guard, it will signal that they need a young lead guard. The biggest need the Bulls have, ironically, is shooting guard, and Dwyane Wade’s position is shooting guard. But his best days are behind him.

At this stage in Dwyane Wade’s career, while he is on the record saying that he will not go out to hunt for a championship, he still has a desire to win. Is that where the Chicago Bulls are?

Are the Chicago Bulls offering Dwyane Wade his best chance at winning? That has to be on Wade’s mind as he ponders his decision.

According to a CSN Chicago report, Dwyane Wade is weighing his options regarding a possible return to the Bulls. Opting in is more than sensible for Dwyane Wade.

The chances are great that Wade will not see a contract offer greater than the $23.8 million that the Chicago Bulls are willing to pay him. But by walking away from his Bulls’ deal, he would still get some strong offers. A couple of those contracts could include two and three-year commitments.

Teams which was interested in Dwyane Wade last offseason would be just as intrigued this year. An NBA team will not look at Wade as an aging veteran trying to hold on. They will look at his statistics of 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists and realize that he would be an incredible third or fourth scoring option. He was miscast as the Bulls’ second option on most nights.

There are two conceivable reasons why Dwyane Wade would choose to opt-out of his Bulls’ contract — an opportunity to play with one of his friends or to help the Bulls recruit one of his friends. Hypothetically speaking, if Wade says no to the $23.8 million the Bulls are slated to pay him, some of that can go to another star player.

For instance, Los Angeles Clippers’ star Chris Paul is an available free agent. Paul is also one of Wade’s best friends. One scenario could call for the Bulls reach out to Paul in an attempt to sign him. The domino effect would result in Wade opting out, as he has done in the past to fit Paul’s contract. The Bulls would also have to terminate the team option of Rajon Rondo.

Wade may also want to play with one of his friends. In Cleveland, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers need a shooting guard who can score. Because James is there, Kyrie Irving is there, along with Kevin Love, Wade would fit as a fourth option.

There is a sentiment that Dwyane Wade could go back to the Miami Heat, as it had been hinted by the Sun-Sentinel a little over a month ago. Wade returning to the Heat would correlate with Wade’s desire for stability. And that makes the most sense if Wade were to opt-out; especially with the Heat being able to get the cap figure of Chris Bosh’s contract off their books. An opportunity to have Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward, and Dwyane Wade on the same team is worth a look.

[Featured Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]

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