Dwyane Wade Out For Regular Season

12:00pm: Wade said today that if the Bulls make the playoffs and he gets medical clearance, he intends to return for the postseason (Twitter link via Friedell). However, those are both big ifs.

11:50am: After leaving Wednesday’s game with a right elbow injury, Dwyane Wade was diagnosed today with a sprain and a small fracture in that elbow, the Bulls announced (via Twitter). According to the team, Wade will be out for the rest of the regular season.

The Bulls’ announcement explicitly states that Wade will miss the rest of the “regular” season, so it’s not clear if he’d have the opportunity to return in the playoffs if the club were to sneak in. Given how poorly Chicago has played lately even with Wade in the lineup though, that may be a moot point. Having lost six of their last seven games, the Bulls currently have a 32-36 record. That puts them one game back of the Heat and the Pistons, who are tied for the No. 8 seed in the East.

Wade, who inked a two-year, $47MM contract last summer, has averaged 18.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 3.9 APG in his first year with the Bulls, shooting a career-worst 43.4% from the floor. If the veteran guard doesn’t suit up again for Chicago this season, it’s possible he has played his last game with the team. Wade will have to make a decision this offseason on a $23.8MM player option for 2017/18.

Wade’s health figures to play a part in his decision on that option. According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link), Wade told reporters today that he won’t undergo surgery to repair the break in his elbow. Nick Friedell of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) that the 35-year-old will be re-evaluated in a week.

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