Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo peaked eight years ago
By Ian Levy
A few hours ago, it was announced that Dwyane Wade was leaving the only franchise he’s ever played for — the Miami Heat — to sign a two-year, $47.5 million deal with the Chicago Bulls. Wade was reportedly frustrated with a low offer from the Heat and had taken meetings with several teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers over the past few days.
The Bulls have been active this offseason, trading Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks, waving goodbye to Pau Gasol as he heads to the San Antonio Spurs, and signing Rajon Rondo to a two-year deal. The future of this team now clearly belongs to Jimmy Butler and, assuming he slides up to play small forward, the Bulls will now be running with an entirely new backcourt: Rondo and Wade. Both players have lengthy resumes filled with accolades earned at the highest levels of competition, including a championship ring for Rondo with the Celtics and three for Wade with the Heat.
Unfortunately, both players are well removed from the primes of their careers. In fact, by Basketball-Reference’s Value Over Replacement Player (VORP), both players peaked during the 2008-09 season.
There are obvious questions about fit. Butler, Wade, and Rondo all ranked in the top-50 among regular rotation players in time of possession last season. Rondo and Wade made 69 combined three-pointers last season (nice!). Those sorts of questions make the present of the Bulls look murky and, although Rondo and Wade are productive in their own ways, clearly neither is part of the team’s long-term future. Over the past three seasons, Wade and Rondo have produced a combined VORP of 8.3, about the same as Russell Westbrook did last season alone.
So raise a glass to Chicago’s new backcourt, they may not be here for long.