Dwyane Wade‘s time in Chicago might be coming to an end, and now we’re starting to hear just when went wrong in the Windy City for the NBA veteran. Free agency for the 35-year-old will happen and, according to those in the know, and some say a stop in Cleveland is next for Wade.
Long before Kyrie Irving’s trade to the Celtics was even a possibility, Wade’s problems with the youth on the Chicago Bulls was a topic of discussion on Tuesday’s “The Jump.” ESPN’s Nick Friedell said a rift had been created between Wade and the younger players on the team, to the point that it was “no secret” in Chicago that the young Bulls “can’t stand Dwyane.”
“The young players on the Bulls really can’t stand Dwyane,” Friedell said on “The Jump” on Tuesday. “It’s no secret in Chicago, they have had enough.”
Friedell said the unnamed players were upset that Wade wouldn’t practice, but would gladly call out other guys on the team for not working hard enough. The veteran clearly rubbed some players the wrong way, setting up an uncomfortable situation for the Bulls where they traded Jimmy Butler and Wade picked up his $24 million team option.
That move, it seems, was about the money. Which is what it will come down to when Wade is finally released.
“This is inevitable. It’s coming. It’s just a matter of when not if,” Friedell said. “But right now, guys, it’s just kind of a staring contest. Everybody’s looking at each other saying ‘OK, how much money are you willing to give up?'”
From the sounds of it, Wade moving his kids to a school in Miami really does show his hand here. It’s easier to move over the summer than it is during the school year, and Wade appears to be making his own changes in-season.
“This is a divorce that’s going to happen,” Friedell said. “But it may take some time.”
Between all this and McDonald’s getting rid of their orange soda, it’s been quite a summer of change for Wade.
