Dwyane Wade Agrees To Two-Year Deal With Chicago Bulls

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

On July 4, superstar Kevin Durant shocked the basketball world by deciding to leave Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors. A few days later, Dwyane Wade got in on the action being the second franchise player to willingly leave their team this summer.

According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Wade will leave the Miami Heat in favor of the Chicago Bulls on a two-year deal:

After 13 seasons and three NBA championships, Wade has decided to leave the Heat and join the Chicago Bulls, a person familiar with the deal told USA TODAY Sports.

It’s a two-year, $47.5 million deal for Wade. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because the signing had not been made public.

Heading into the NBA offseason, the Heat were considered the heavy favorite to land Wade in free agency for the second straight year. Although Miami expressed interest in keeping Wade for a little while longer, the team prioritized re-signing Hassan Whiteside and were willing to let the face of the franchise walk in free agency.

Wade called the team’s bluff by taking meetings with other teams. The New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Denver Nuggets were all in the mix to sign Wade, but the lure of the Bulls franchise was too much to pass up on.

A few weeks ago, the Bulls traded away their face of the franchise in Derrick Rose. The often injured star had outstayed his welcome with the team leaning toward trade him or Jimmy Butler over the summer. Butler had more upside which ultimately led to Rose’s departure in a deal with the New York Knicks.

In order to save face after trading arguably the most popular player in the franchise’s history since Michael Jordan, the team agreed to terms with one-time NBA champion Rajon Rondo. Following that deal up by acquiring Wade on a two-year deal makes the Bulls an interesting team in the Eastern Conference.