No fireworks expected on free agent front until later in week Notion that Wade is getable slightly grows in Bulls' camp By K.C. Johnson, Tribune reporter 9:06 p.m. CDT, July 4, 2010 The whirlwind activity of free-agent players flying in and out of Chicago and teams flying in and out of LeBron James' Ohio, and points beyond, slowed on Sunday. That Dwyane Wade remained in his hometown either will be foreshadowing or a big tease. As tea-leaf readers parsed the significance of a Cleveland Plain-Dealer report that James won't decide his future until at least Wednesday and a New York Daily News report that the Knicks, poised to sign Amare Stoudemire, got a second audience with James' agent and perhaps even a third Knicks visit, the notion that Wade is more getable slightly grew in Bulls' camp. You don't listen to a team's sales pitch twice in 30 hours — as Wade did Thursday and Friday — if you're not serious about the option. Given his public recruiting for the Heat leading up to this free-agent season, plenty reacted with skepticism when the Tribune reported on June 29 that Wade wanted to visit the Bulls. But sources close to Wade then and now insist his interest is genuine. What's intriguing is that some of the points from the Bulls' elaborate, three-hour pitch to James on Saturday might resonate more with Wade. As a Robbins native, he knows the worldwide power of the Bulls' brand because he cheered for those six Michael Jordan-led championships. While at Marquette, he also noticed the United Center was full even for the non-competitive Tim Floyd era. (The Heat's attendance is notoriously poor.) And the Bulls' roster is far superior to the Heat's, with a gaping hole at shooting guard after the salary dump of Kirk Hinrich. How much family issues play a role in Wade's decision only he can answer. Recently divorced, an ongoing custody case for his two sons is scheduled back in court July 19. But a source told the Tribune: "This decision isn't just about basketball." If it's only about money, Wade will re-sign with the Heat, who have the ability to offer a sixth year and higher annual raises equaling a $29 million difference. And the first few free-agent commitments — Rudy Gay with the Grizzlies, Joe Johnson with the Hawks, Stoudemire's imminent deal with the Knicks — have mostly been about money. The Bulls are hoping that trend doesn't continue because as it stands, even with $30 million, they don't possess enough salary-cap space to offer two maximum contracts. That's why sign-and-trade talks with the Raptors regarding Chris Bosh continue. The Bulls' dream scenario is to add either Wade or James and an All-Star power forward like Bosh or Carlos Boozer. The latter, who also could sign with the Jazz or Nets, likely could be had for the roughly $13.4 million the Bulls would have after committing a maximum salary of $16.6 million to either Wade or James. This always has been the reality of free agency: The Bulls either can hit a home run by adding Wade or James along with Bosh or Boozer, or they can hit a single with a wide turn around first by signing, say, Boozer and adding a shooting guard like Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick. Johnson's deal, confirmed Sunday by agent Arn Tellem in a blog on Huffington Post, is six years for $119 million. Tellem writes what several local media outlets have reported all season — that Johnson was intrigued by the Bulls because of Derrick Rose and Jannero Pargo, his college teammate. The Bulls contacted Tellem the first night of free agency, but the Hawks trumped all suitors. The Bulls continue to talk to players' representatives. A Tuesday meeting with Stoudemire likely will be canceled when he accepts the Knicks' deal. But it's a lot of hurry-up-and-wait now. And Wade leaves town — might this be foreshadowing too? — for a promotional appearance in South Florida on Tuesday. Some closure should form this week. In the meantime, Wade summarized it best Friday night as he left the second meeting with the Bulls "This is not an easy decision to make," he said. "And everyone thinks it is." kcjohnson@tribune.com http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...s-chicago-free-agency20100704,0,6277316.story
Family Has Wade Thinking Chicago July, 4, 2010 Jul 49:31PM ET By Chad Ford Dwyane Wade began the free-agency period in Chicago, holding meetings with the Bulls and Nets on Thursday and the Knicks on Friday. But it was a second meeting with the Bulls on early Friday evening that has everyone reassessing where Wade stands. Wade met with the Bulls for a second time on Friday, but left the meeting without making a formal commitment to the Bulls. The 2½-hour meeting included the Bulls' front office, Wade and his agent Henry Thomas. "Things are getting very interesting," Wade said after the meeting. The same source told ESPN.com earlier on Friday that Wade went into the meeting leaning toward committing to the Bulls. After the meeting, Wade had still had not committed, according to the source. The source said he was still torn between Miami and Chicago and was waiting to see what LeBron James and Chris Bosh would like to do. Wade would prefer to play with Bosh in either Miami or Chicago and is also open to playing with LeBron. Wade is happy in Miami and knows the Heat can offer him roughly $30 million more to stay at home. Wade has a familiarity in Miami and is loyal to the team. A number of league sources have said that Wade is flirting with the Bulls to get the Heat to be more proactive in recruiting free agents or to create drama to his documentary that he's filming about the free agent process. However, a source close to Wade told me that other factors, both basketball and personal, have Wade seriously considering leaving Miami for Chicago. Wade had dinner with Bosh in Chicago on Thursday night and according to the source, one topic of discussion was the advantages of playing with the Bulls versus the Heat. The source said Wade is unclear how the Heat, who currently have just two players under contract, will be able to build a championship contender around him given salary-cap constraints. While the Heat have the money to bring in one more max player (and possibly a second if they do a sign-and-trade), the team will have to fill the rest of the roster with minimum salary players. The Bulls on the other hand, already have several key players including Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah in place. If the Bulls can work out a deal to ship Luol Deng's contract out of town, they would have the funds to add James or Bosh to the puzzle, too. Wade also has multiple ties to Chicago -- a home and family, including his mother, a pastor whose church in the city was purchased for her by her son. But far and way the most important consideration is his two children Zaire and Zion. Wade is recently divorced and the custody of his children is still up in the air. There are concerns that, given the frequent travel tied to being a NBA player, he won't be able to spend quality time with his children during the season if he doesn't stay in Chicago. Wade alluded to as much in an interview with Channel 5 in Chicago on Saturday. "At the end of the day, your decision goes on what's best for you and your family," Wade told Ch. 5. "The organizations I've been brought in to meet with are all good organizations and all can add something to my life, and not just basketball-wise. To me it's about what makes 40 years of my life and not just about the next 10." At the end of the day, it could be his family that makes the decision for him. "You go through a whole season, even the last two seasons, and feel incomplete in a way, no matter what kind of success you have, because you don't have the most important thing to you with you," Wade told AP two weeks ago. "My boys. To be able to have this relationship with them as I have since this summer, it's been probably the best feeling I've had since winning the championship. I don't think people really understand that." http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/17626/family-has-wade-thinking-chicago
It will be HILARIOUS if Wade leaves Miami. They have no backup plan, they literally never imagined they'd be in this scenario. Their best player will be Micheal Besley!! HAHAHA.
The Bulls could probably afford both Dwayne Wade and Carlos Boozer. Chicago would have one heck of a young core: Noah/Gibson Boozer Deng/Johnson Wade/ Rose/ That's the best starting five in the NBA...
Looks like his people are already laying the foundation for his defecting to Chicago. Sure, loyalty is important, but family comes first. .
it sounds like this is where he should go. Him and Boozer or Lee would be great. They could give those guys a 5 year max without a sign and trade and they would take less i am sure.
It sounds like good news for the Rockets. I doubt Chicago would want to give up too much for Bosh when they can sign Boozer/Lee outright. It sure looks like Lebron is heading back to Cleveland at this point. Just the feeling I get..
Yep. I see Wade and Boozer joining forces in Chicago now. LeBron looks like he is staying in Cleveland. Bosh comes to us. It looks like NY will get Stoudemire though, but it doesn't seem like it would bring the value down on our picks. I have no idea where David Lee would end up though. Maybe the Clippers? Nets?
Rose v. Brooks Wade v. Martin Deng v. Ariza Boozer v. Bosh Noah v. Yao With Scola, Lowry, Brad Miller making the 8 man rotation for the Rockets. :grin:
It's tough to say which destination we should be rooting for, Miami or Chicago. On one hand Miami would have literally nobody else on their team if Wade stayed there, besides Beasley who is already a PF. On the other hand, Chicago does not have the cap space to sign Bosh outright and appears unwilling to part what would be needed (Noah?) to successfully SnT with Toronto. Additionally, Miami has cap space up the wazoo, so if Bosh really wanted he could take their 5-year max and just hope that Miami got some other talented players with their remaining 11M in cap space. Personally I will be rooting for Chicago to get Wade just to screw Pat Riley's plans up. Bosh Wade + Lebron would have been a cruel thing to do to the NBA and he gutted his entire team to make it happen. Screw him. I'll be hoping that after Wade signs with Chicago, Chicago gets sick of negotiating with Toronto to no avail and turns to David Lee as its answer at PF. Boozer frankly I think will be too expensive for them; he'll go to either Miami or New Jersey (unlike the others I don't think Boozer is too concerned with championship aspirations, he'll just take the max wherever it's offered). Bosh of course would then turn to plan C - the Rockets.
Deng is for sure the better player but I think Ariza is the better team player and a better defender. I'd say Deng=Ariza and possibly less than when you are asking him to be your number 4 scorer and need him to defend and rebound most of the time.
Deng and Ariza are close...but our bench would be better than the Bulls. Would be a great Sunday afternoon, nationally televised game to watch.
Except it would probably look more like: Rose > Brooks Wade > Martin Deng > Ariza Bosh > Scola Noah > Hayes as it gets later in the season
