SEPTEMBER 25, 4:25pm: Wade has been formally placed on waivers, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. He will clear waivers on Wednesday, Charania adds.
SEPTEMBER 24, 8:36pm: The Bulls and Dwyane Wade have reached an agreement on a buyout, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
The early favorites for Wade’s services are the Spurs, Cavaliers and Heat, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Miami is currently positioned to pay him the most money this season.
Within minutes, Wojnarowski followed up with another tweet saying that Cleveland was a “clear frontrunner.”
Per Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Heat can sign Wade for $4.2MM and the Spurs can sign him for $3.3MM. The Cavaliers at $2.5MM could pay little over the veteran’s minimum.
The idea of Wade suiting up elsewhere in 2017/18 has been a popular topic ever since the organization traded Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves earlier this summer.
It’s been said that Wade felt misled by the organization at the beginning of the offseason, given assurances that the team would remain competitive in his final year with the squad should he opt into his 2017/18 player option.
Wade, of course, did opt in but the Bulls soon changed course, trading Butler for a package centered around Zach LaVine and Minnesota’s No. 7 overall pick.
In the months since, the Bulls and Wade have gone back and forth in seemingly amicable negotiations.
Per Wojnarowski (also on Twitter), Wade will forfeit about $8MM of his $23.8MM contract, leaving the Bulls on the hook for around $16MM through 2017/18.
Considering that Chicago currently runs the risk of falling below the salary floor for the season, keeping the bulk of the veteran’s deal on their books isn’t particularly cumbersome.
Chicago came to an agreement with Nikola Mirotic earlier today that would have pushed the Bulls above the $89.2MM floor but the Wade buyout will drop them below yet again as training camps around the league begin in earnest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Yay finally
Probably why the Cavs didn’t make a play for Melo.
Would love to see him with okc because it the best bet for him to be the most valued and have a chance for championship sign 2 years and then retire
That makes no sense
You really thin just because they add pg13 and Melo there a championship caliber team in the west that’s just crazy there a 4/5 team at the max if it was east that’s a different story
Idk if the Thunder can be a championship caliber team or not; fact is, at this point, no one really and truly knows what to expect from the Thunder.
They very well could meet The Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, or they very well could get bounced in the first or second round by a lower seed…We just don’t know…
However, I’m pretty sure the Thunder will be more than just a 4 to 5 seed in the West.
He going to the Cavs
Yep, he’s going with his boyfriend.
lol
Praying he goes back to Miami. He would be deadly off the bench for us:
C Whiteside, Bam, Haslem
PF JJ, Olynk
SF Winslow, Richardson, Ellington
SG Waiters, Wade, McGruder
PG Dragic, TJ
Wade would start over Waiters
No he wouldn’t
Yes he would.
Heat have been public about wanting a Wade reunion only if he can accept coming off the bench, which at this point, I think he realizes he made a mistake leaving Miami and going to Chicago.
He still thinks of himself as a starter and quality contributor and an All-Star player. No way he’s coming off the bench for a team that won’t make the playoffs like the Heat.
While I personally would still start him over Waiters, I’m more interested in seeing who you think will make the playoffs, if you have Miami missing them
Wade still thinks he has rings in him. He’s going to the Cavs no two ways about it.
if by “deadly” you mean “irrelevant” then I’m with you
Heat went 30-11 at the end of the year, and have retained their core. Adding Wade, a future hall of famer, still capable of giving you 15-20 points off the bench, would be irrelevant? You clearly don’t understand basketball.
Thunder? Celtics? Rockets? Magic?
I hope he signs with the Spurs …
c – Gasoline
F – Aldridge
SF- Leonard
SG – Wade
PG – Parker/Mills
I feel like it could be really appealing to him to go the Spurs. Pop has done a really good job with players at the latter end of their careers. It would be a really good fit, and he could play a manu type role with team. I would love to see him go to OKC because of the star power but Cleveland and SA are more realistic options. Miami could be an option as well
Center for Spurs is Gasol …
It probably got autocorrected dude
Hahaha, no he isn’t, it’s GASOLINE
Wade to the Cavs… Shumpert and a 1st on the way out for….
Koufos? Vucevic? Booker?
Vucevic, more likely. Not bad.
If they get Vucevic they’d be in very good shape.
I jumped when I saw Vucevic though like so many centers, his “realPlusminus” collapses vs GSW. It may take a Gasol, for whatever reason, or a repurposed F, like Faried (?).
If he doesn’t go to the Cavs I’d be shocked but if he doesn’t I’d be even more shocked if he doesn’t go back to the Heat and signs with someone other than the Cavs or Heat.
I heard the Lakers were hoping to get him if he opted out so I wouldn’t be surprised if they at least contact his agent. But still don’t see him going anywhere other then the Heat or Cavs.
So if he goes to the Cavs the Cavs will get… older???
The Melo news is still settling in. Football teams are dealing with pregame statements. Could the Bulls & DWade nwot wait a day or two!
—
Anyway it may be assumed that DWade would be consistently welcomed by Cavs fans, even by a Shumpert fan worried about the center spot.
Didn’t think this would happen now. Heat can pay him the most, but if the Cavs offer him a starting spot, it might be there for a year before coming home. The other teams don’t surprise me, as they’re the original teams I had thought when this was all theoretical. Even OKC would be interesting, if he was in a prominent bench role for them. I originally thought the Spurs made the most sense, but I haven’t been entirely sure about their offseason…
I really hope he comes back to Miami. Honestly, it would really mean a lot, and despite what some think, this team and city can really use him. Maybe that’s just for selfish reasons
It’s going to go like this
Wade will play the first half of the season and get injured (like always)
Then IT4 will be back form his injuries to finish the yr
At this stage in his career D.wade doesn’t scary me like he once did he can never stay healthy all he is now is the 7-8 man off the bench
Dumpster, meet Fire.
People stop playing….
CAVS
FOR
SURE
!
Wade could come play Ginobilis minutes in SA and Pop could give Manu a little bit of a reduced load
Cavs…