Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
The ball’s in his court
Dwyane Wade ponders his future with the Bulls.
MIAMI — Only when it was over could Dwyane Wade reflect on his fresh start.
So with the Chicago Bulls eliminated from the playoffs, the South Florida icon not only took time to look back on first NBA season away from the Miami Heat, but also on the experience of playing in his hometown.
“Obviously it was different,” Wade said in the wake of the Bulls being eliminated 4-2 in the first round by the Boston Celtics. “If I could say anything, if there’s one word I could pull out, it’s just different. I expected it to be different. I only played in one organization my entire career, but the biggest thing is I came here and I was embraced. Not only by the city, by up top. I was embraced by the coaches, the players, and it was some good moments and some bad moments, just like every season. But I don’t regret my decision at all.
“Losing, like I said, it’s never easy, especially when you’ve won championships before. Whenever you lose it always sucks, but you sit back and reflect on the positive, you look at the things that came out of it, and there’s always some good,
more than bad. When you’re playing basketball for money at the top level, it’s not all bad. I definitely don’t regret my decision of being here this season.”
The Bulls and Heat finished tied at 41-41 for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, with Chicago advancing to the postseason by virtue of winning the season series 2-1.
After advancing to five NBA Finals with the Heat and winning 2006, ’12 and ’13 NBA championships in Miami, Wade said the adjustment was undeniable.
“It’s a lot of adjustments I had to make, just because of being in one other jersey before. Everything was an adjustment,” he said. “It took me a long time to get the jersey to fit right, you know. So many things were an adjustment this year, but that’s all a part of it. I have no mumblings about that. It’s all a part of the journey, man. It’s all about the story of life, so I appreciate it all.”
Wade declined comment on the recent ESPN the Magazine story in which Heat President Pat Riley reiterated disappointment in not taking a more active role in last summer’s negotiations with Wade.
After spending his first 13 NBA seasons in South Florida, Wade left the Heat last season for a larger two-year free-agent deal with the Bulls, dealing almost exclusively with Heat owner Micky Arison during those 2016 negotiations.
For now, Wade said he finds himself back where he stood last summer, weighing his next NBA step, with a $23.8 million player option to return to the Bulls next season.
“I haven’t sat down and thought about it 100 percent yet,” he said. “It’s more so when they come to me with their vision of where they’re going, if I feel I can be a big part of it and be comfortable with it. I don’t know. I haven’t wrote it down yet, where I can sit back and say these are my pros and cons, which I do. I’ve been doing it since college. But I haven’t done it yet. I don’t have to do it now.
“I have at least a month before I have to start thinking that way.”
Wade said he would take a measured approach with his future.
“Same way you do when you decide to come and be a part of something, you talk about it, the same way,” Wade said about his forthcoming discussions with the Bulls’ front office. “I’m sure it will be a few weeks, when they get all the information they need and kind of put the draft hat on, and all the other things together. But at some point, we will sit down and talk and I’ll see what direction they’re going in, and make a decision.”
Wade’s decision must come before the July 1 start of NBA free agency.
Neither Wade nor Riley has ruled out a possible Heat reunion.
Wade, 35, previously had mentioned several factors that will weigh on his future, including having relocated his family back to his hometown, while also maintaining his South Florida residence. He was asked if being assured $23.8 million for next season from the Bulls offered a window into his thinking.
“I’m not a predictable person, I don’t think,” he said, with such a 2017-18 salary among the reasons the Heat were reluctant to go with as lucrative a two-year offer last summer. “I don’t know. It’s not a bad thing for me. I’m in a good situation. Whether there’s a lot of options or not, I’m in a very good situation.
“As a player, you can decide what you want to do. And I have a lot of money to decide if I want to take it or not. It’s not a bad thing, because I worked my butt of for it over my career, so no rush in my mind. I don’t have to think about it right now. I’ve got at least a month before my mind starts going there.”