During the impasse with Dwyane Wade‘s contract negotiations in Miami this summer, there were a lot of whispers about him possibly teaming back up with LeBron James in Cleveland. That didn’t happen, of course, and the three-time champ ultimately ended up with his hometown team in Chicago.
But it was definitely a scenario Wade considered, however briefly, before making his final decision. Here’s how he explained it to Leo Sepkowitz of SLAM:
“For me, it’s as simple as, I got a deal in Miami for $41 million, I got a deal in Chicago for $47 million,” Wade said. “It didn’t come down to the money. I thought about Cleveland, but I didn’t fit there. You don’t just do something because, Oh, I could win the ring there. I have three rings. I don’t need to chase the ring. This is what I wanted to do. I couldn’t fight it. If you fight it, you’re gonna always be like, You shoulda, or, What could’ve–I don’t like to live my life like that.”
Of course, with J.R. Smith’s uncertain status in Cleveland going forward, there might very well have been an opportunity for him to slide right in at shooting guard, but nobody could foresee exactly how that situation would play out at the time, and there’s a big difference between J.R. jacking threes and Wade slashing into the lane. With the way the Bulls are currently constructed, it’s obvious his move wasn’t about ring-chasing, but he could certainly revisit that idea when his current contract is up in two years.
