NBA rumors: Dwyane Wade’s decision down to three teams
By David Rouben
Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Dwyane Wade’s free agency decision will come down to just three teams.
Even at age 34, Dwyane Wade is still playing at a very high level, hence the nickname “Father Prime.” He nearly carried the Miami Heat to the Eastern Conference Finals, despite injuries suffered by Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside.
Anyone in need of help at the two would be craving his services, but after a week of free agency, there are now just three teams left in the mix, and he will reportedly decide on one of those three tonight:
Sources: Dwyane Wade is pushing for a resolution on his future tonight: Miami, Chicago or Denver. Pat Riley wants an answer too.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 7, 2016
Once he makes his decision, the moratorium period will come to an end, meaning that it will be final, and there will be no going back.
With Whiteside re-signed, the Heat’s biggest priority will be to get Dwyane Wade back. He has taken multiple pay cuts to stay with the Heat, and seeing him play for another team just feels dirty and wrong. To see them among the last three teams standing is at least a little encouraging.
After a season in which they didn’t make the playoffs, Chicago has dumped a lot of valuable assets this off-season, but even with Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol gone, their frontcourt still remains a mess. They surely don’t want to start next season with a backcourt of Jimmy Butler and Jose Calderon, so expect them to be aggressive in their pursuit of Wade. Because even though they’re a team on the decline, Chicago is still an attractive market and city to play in.
Denver remains a dark horse in all of this, but the fact that they’ve beat out Cleveland – and a Wade/LeBron James reunion — gives them real hope that they can sign Wade. They have the most cap space of the three teams left, having already thrown lots of money at him, and a promising young core that Wade can mentor. With all things considered, why not sign with the Nuggets?
While there won’t be as much attention surrounding his decision as Kevin Durant’s, wherever Wade ends up next season will have a tremendous impact on the rest of the free agent market.
Visit our NBA free agency page for more news throughout the offseason.