The Chicago Bulls are beginning to gauge interest with free-agent shooting guard Dwyane Wade following LeBron James' decision to leave Miami Heat and re-join the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
Wade, who played for the Heat since he was taken no.5 overall in the 2003 Draft, is the only remaining major piece left in Miami's championship core that won two crowns out of the four consecutive NBA Finals appearances.
The 32-year old Wade is coming off his worst statistical year since his rookie season, averaging 19.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game with the Heat. Injuries, particularly his left knee, limited him to 54 games last season.
Despite dealing with knee problem for the past two seasons, Wade is still one of the most explosive scorers in the league. However, the former NBA Finals MVP and 10-time All-Star is facing a cloud of uncertainty on South Beach, with James returning to Cleveland and Chris Bosh leaning towards joining his home state team - the Houston Rockets.
Now, multiple sources indicated that Wade is also considering into playing for his home city team - the Chicago Bulls. ESPN Marc Stein and Yahoo Sports NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski reported about mutual interest between the Bulls and Wade.
"The Chicago Bulls are gauging interest with free agent Dwyane Wade, league sources tell Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski posted on his Twitter account.
"THIS JUST IN: Marc Stein is reporting that D Wade is interested in returning home which is the #Bulls," Chicago Sports News.
Wade with the Bulls
Ever since Wade became a free-agent for the first time in 2010, the Bulls have been courting the All-Star guard in hope of pairing him with then up-and-coming point guard Derrick Rose.
Four years later, the Bulls once again expressed interest in Wade even before he opted out of his contract two weeks ago. General manager Gar Forman and the Bulls front office have been aggressive in acquiring free-agents this offseason, including small forward Carmelo Anthony and power forward Pau Gasol.
But with Wade appears to be available in the market, the Bulls are expected to make a run of Chicago's homegrown talent at $12 to $15 million per year.
Of course, the Heat can now offer much bigger paycheck for Wade with massive cap space created by James' and Bosh's departure, but the Bulls provide Wade the chance to contend for a title at this point of his career.
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