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If Saturday was drama-filled with the coverage surrounding Donald Trump and the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sunday was headlined by Dwyane Wade. The 3-time NBA Champion was able to reach a buyout agreement with the Chicago Bulls. He is now on the free agent market looking for a team to play the upcoming season with.
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune was the first to report Wade's updated status:
After 13 seasons with the Miami Heat, Wade was able to live his childhood dream of playing for his hometown team - the Bulls - last year. Although he signed a two-year deal with them, he left about 8-10 million on the table to split from the franchise and look to play meaningful basketball for a contender rather than get stuck in the rebuilding process.
As the 12-time All-Star keeps his options with this move, we take a look at the most favorable teams that he should sign with:
#5 Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade is easily the most accomplished and iconic player in the franchise's history. Since his departure, the team looks far more established and has proved that their culture can withstand a rebuild, proven by their late Playoff push last season.
The team's success has pivoted around Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside and Dion Waiters. There is still only one ball and Pat Riley is still at the top of the franchise as their President of Basketball Operations. Wade hasn't ruled out a return to Florida and anything is possible in the NBA but given their sour split last year, it's highly doubtful that the Heat will look to pick him up even at the discounted price.
#4 Los Angeles Lakers
At this point in his career with the mileage on his body, there is only one thing Wade can provide to teams - his championship pedigree. And although the Lakers aren't relevant when it comes to contending for a championship, they do provide other lucrative things.
Los Angeles provides Wade with a huge market to push his business ventures (sneaker line and clothing), a market bigger than he had in Chicago and bigger than he will ever have in Miami.
Since Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka took over the Lakers in February, the culture of the franchise has changed drastically. A good head coach, a lot of promising young talent combined with the positive offseason moves by the front office gives the organization's rebuild a more realistic look than it had a couple of years back.
In such a system, Wade would fit perfectly as a mentor. A seasoned vet who can play his limited minutes but more importantly impart much-needed knowledge to the inexperienced yet talented Lakers. Add to that, the fact that Tinseltown wouldn't be a bad place for his wife, actress Gabrielle Union either.
#3 San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have been known to pull off few miracles.
It's not that mythical. All the Spurs do is extract the most of their team, irrespective of the roster on hand. They showed that last year, when they pulled off 61 wins, in their first season without Tim Duncan in 19 years. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Spurs are among the frontrunners:
Signing Wade will mean the Spurs now have six 30+ players on the roster. They could use the experience given that their roster currently for training camp has three rookies and three players with just a years experience.
However, on the downside, all of their 30+ players are key to their success. Even if Wade was to stay healthy by playing limited minutes, he isn't exactly the type of player to maximize the team's capability and be super efficient in his time on the floor.
But like I said, to begin with, the Spurs do pull off miracles. They are known to fly under the radar in the offseason and in the regular season surprise everybody.
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder
Woj says OKC could be a factor in the Wade market. Always trust what Woj says even if you have no knowledge of the situation. However, in this case, there are enough reasons for Wade to sign with the Thunder. It all comes down to whether both parties agree on what his role on the team is.
The Thunder are clearly a factor because of the two summer trades they pulled off that landed superstars Paul George and most recently Carmelo Anthony to Oklahoma City. Not to mention the close off-court camaraderie Wade shares with Anthony.
Oklahoma City is a small market team yet they've gone all in with the big bucks to assemble a team that can contend in the West. Adding Wade wouldn't hurt financially, locker room or on-court fit wise. He's won championships and has played the veteran role however physically he is hugely handicapped as compared to the team's other superstars - Russell Westbrook, George and Anthony.
The problem they will face is: there is only one ball.
#1 Cleveland Cavaliers
This should come as no surprise.
Dwyane Wade and LeBron James are great friends off the court, something that led them to form a superteam themselves back in 2011 in Miami. The mere presence of James in Cleveland plays a huge role in the Wade sweepstakes. Also, the shooting guard, even in limited minutes, will help the team with their offense, or lack thereof.
This might come off as a no-brainer but there are huge reasons why this shouldn't go down. The Cavaliers are by a huge margin under the tax and even if Wade's salary is decided to be at the minimum, it will still hurt the franchise when it comes to tax calculations because they are repeating offender.
If Cleveland wants to merely add Wade as a statement, to solidify their position as No. 1 in the East, there's nothing wrong about that but the 35-year old isn't going to be very handy against the Golden State Warriors, if the franchise were to get there eventually.
Guess the Lakers players!
