There's a reason why Bulls management isn't on a plane to Los Angeles to woo Joe Johnson late Wednesday.
Dwyane Wade is from here.
And with the local product currently making Chicago his free-agent recruiting base, league sources told the Tribune the Bulls are finalizing details on a Thursday meeting with Wade at the United Center.
Earlier this week, both the Tribune and Sun-Sentinel reported that Wade was contemplating a visit to his hometown team, even though he has been widely expected to re-sign with the Heat.
Photo: Miami's Dwyane Wade fields reporters' questions during the All-Star game in February. (Tim Sharp / AP)
But Wade is serious about exploring his options, one source said, and might also meet with the Knicks on Friday in Chicago.
Wade mildly questioned the Bulls' loyalty to its former stars in an exclusive interview with the Tribune's Fred Mitchell in late May. But while management didn't like Wade's words at the time, it also knows it must seriously explore all options in free agency.
The bulls are meeting w Bosh right now.
Let me clue in a clueless K.C. Johnson. The Bulls don't need to have the Raptors take Luol Deng to get a S&T done for Chris Bosh. If Miami can offer Beasley ($4m) and Chalmers ($1m) and a trade-exception, then the Bulls can offer up Gibson ($1m), Johnson ($2m) and Omer Asik ($1m) plus picks. DENG DOES NOT HAVE TO BE INCLUDED. Getting rid of those guys gives the Bulls room for TWO MAX contracts. So, get a clue K.C. Thanks.
Wade, the young boy that grew up on the lower end of Chicago, talks about his childhood franchise. Way to go, Wade!
correction
wade:miami
bosh : chicago or miami
stoudamire: New York, Miami, or Chicago, or NJ
Lebron : cleveland or chicago
wade: chicago
lee : toronto or NJ
johnson : chicago, atlanta, or New York
nowitzki: dallas
pierce:boston
boozer :NJ, Chicago, or New York
Its all open, the dust will all settle 1 week from now when the salary books are set.
LBJ ain't coming - he'll be the thorn in our side that MJ was to the Cavs! Wade is staying in Miami!
The Bulls best bet is Bosh and a top 2 (SG) if there is one out there. Or Bosh and try to trade for 'Melo when he opts not to resign with Denver.
Wade just gonna spread lies about how the Bulls mistreated him during the talk in order to get others to go to Miami. I hate that liar. We don't want him.
If we come up empty handed don't blame management. I have to give forman credit, as far a being cheap riensdorf gave Jordan $30 million a year making him the highest paid player in history at that time.
Ron Burgandy is right. This is just to distract the Bulls from pursuing other FA's. Wade is heading back to South Beach.
Yawn. Wade is not a good fit with Rose. They need a 2 that shoots from the outside, and before you little Ben losers chime in, he also has to guard the likes of Kobe and other big boy 2s.
Sign and trade for Bosh. Give them Taj, Deng, Johnson, a #1, and money.
Go get Lebron.
Use the remaining $ for roster completion with vets who can contribute now.
Get backup for Rose with undrafted Randle or Collins.
Win 7 titles.
Then I will call Pax a great architect.
Won't a lot of this confusion be cleared up when 11pm comes around? I mean if any of these guys were to stay on their rosters they're currently on and receive the 'upped' salary, they'd have to sign on and not go to the FA market? Am I right?
If thats the case and $$ is what is really driving the ship, Wade would already be staying at Miami and Lebron would (if he wanted to stay in Cleveland) already be at Cleveland come the 12.00 deadline???
I could be wrong though??
Waste of time for a player that is clearly going to resign with the Heat as he pubicly recruits others to join him in Miami.
Fadsf - sources have said the BULLS meeting is on Friday with James. Management can meet with Wade here tomorrow and still get to Akron on Friday.
I don't think Wade really meant what he said about the Bulls. I think Riley told him to say it because he knew the Bulls are the biggest competition for James. Wade is not coming here though, something major would have to happen for him to leave Miami. He loves it there and is loved there. This is just a leverage move. All the hype right now is for Miami to get James but that is BS, the Miami Hearld is reporting that James, Wade, Bosh and Allen are all going to get together in Miami. Please, first off Miami can't come close to affording that. They would have to trade Beasley and everyone else on the roster to Toronto and Toronto does not want any of their guys. Not to Mention no team is big enough for Wade, James and Bosh. Only one guy gets to be the leader, only one guy gets to be the star. You put those three guys together and they will loose a fortune in endorsments, they would basically be watering down their own marketability. I don't think you will see a super combo of players on any team because they will loose value over the long haul, how much did Pippen make behind Jordan in endorsments?
I got it like this.
Wade=Miami
James=Bulls or Knicks
Bosh=Knicks or Bulls
Amere=Suns or Miami
Johnson=Knicks, Bulls then Nets
Dirk=Mavs or Bulls
Allen=Celtics or Miami
Pierce=Celtics or Miami
The Best case for the Bulls would be to get James and Dirk as they compliment eachother and you get that 3 point shooter they are desperate for. A shooter like Nowitzki would make Rose and James ability to get penetration devestating. But getting Dirk is a long shot at best, unless he really wants a ring.
"mildly"questioned bulls loyalty...this writer is a pussy!
Attention Everyone:
LeBron, D-Wayne, Kobe, Carmello aren't coming to Chicago. This is all hokum; LBJ is staying in Ohio; Wade is happy in Miami; and the Bulls better start looking at restricted or future free agents who can be had with trade. If we end up giving Boozer or Johnson a max contract, this team is going to reek for years to come. They need to go after players that can make a difference; that have game outcome impact potential. The Bulls already made several mistakes in giving near max. contracts to Deng, Hinrich and making bad trade and drafting decisions over the last 5-10 years. A first-grader could make better personnel decisions than Krause, Paxson, and Forman. Go after Rudy Gay, Collison in New Orleans, maybe Bargnanni in Toronto; maybe Jefferson. Let their phenom point guard play a more natural position (2 guard) and opt for multiple bodies, including a big man/wide body, not one or two max. contract, low impact, boring players. Please. Otherwise, let's boycott this team in Fall. They don't deserve sell-outs at home any more. They've gutted the team and are wasting money.
By the way... Wade's "negative" comments about the Bulls organization were extremely blown out of proportion. Any of you who are true Chicago Bulls fan's have had expressed criticisms 50x more harsh than what Wade had said... Tell me you've been in love with Jerry Reinsdorf since 85 n I'll call BS. If Jerry Reinsdorf had a positive selfless attitude of an owner like Mark Cuban, P Jackson n M Jordan might have stayed. We might have won 3 - 4 more championships. But it is what it is..
I wouldn't be surprised if Wade ends up in Chicago. His kids live in Chicago! Try not seeing your kids 85% of the year, its heart wrenching. If Wade landed in Chicago, his young kids could see him at all 41 home games win a Championship in his home town. If the bulls have a good pitch, they stand a VERY good chance of landing Wade. A Wade Rose combo would be deadly, and Wade would do more to impart knowledge on Rose than any of the other free agents prospects would..
For the record I think the Bulls will end up with Bosh, and Johnson.. Boozer to Miami w/ Wade, LBJ stays in Cleveland for 3 years, Amare stays in Phoenix, Dirk stays in Dallas
reinsdorf and thibodeu will be in akron giving their pitch to lebron.
who will be with wade in Chicago?
he think that he's distracting the bulls but maybe they're keeping him away from lebron and allowing themselves to get some real 1 on 1 time with lebron
He's not keeping the Bulls from talking to Lebron. They have their appointment set already. In fact the Bulls are playing it smart, while everyone is rushing Lebron and selling the idea of we can offer you another max FA or two, the Bulls will talk to Bosh or Wade and try and convince them to sign. So when they do go talk to Lebron, they will actually have a max FA for him to ball with
Any of the big three free agents would be awesome. I'd be thrilled with Wade, Bosh, or Lebron. To those who say that free agents who say they want to stay at home should be ignored, you obviously don't know pr. It's good press to say you want to stay, but there's a long history of some of those guys going. Wade's going to get the max, so this isn't a negotiating ploy.
Talking with Wade doesn't preclude Bosh or Lebron. They have room for almost two max deals and could do a sign and trade for the other. I'd take any who wants to commit right now.
Lebron isn't worried about the women of South Beach. He's with the mother of his children. I doubt he wants to go through the same custody battle mess Wade is going through
hmmm...im guessing he is just playing dummy, just to make sure that it didnt make the HEAT look like they had not plan this all along..I doubt Wade has interest in the Bulls.
Waste of time. He knows the Heat have locked down Bosh, he's going nowhere. Plus he wants to stay far away from his crazy ex-wife. He's flirting with the Bulls to distract them from talking to LeBron.
Ok, don't be too hard on D Wade. Lets face a few facts. Put yourself in his shoes. He lives in Miami, has a condo on South Beach and makes $16-$25M per year. He has a ring and wants another. He plays to win. Wouldn't you do the same thing? With Bosh we bring another championship to Miami. With LeBron, we win the next 8 or 10. Frankly, palm trees are probably looking pretty good to LBJ after living in Cleveland all those years. Clevelanders are a loyal bunch but have you ever seen the babes of South Beach?
Why is everyone so down about Wade? Wade's actually WON a championship -- he's a proven winner which is more than I can say for LBJ. I am happy that the Bulls are the frontrunner for LBJ, but I'd also LOVE to see Wade and Bosh here. I may even prefer the latter scenario.
Why even bother? We already have DROSE. When DRose gets more experience he will be better then Wade. We don't need two who are basically "almost" the same player. Let's just keep the younger version. If we don't get LJ then a combo of Bosh and Boozer/Stad will do.
How could Lebron and Bosh seriously consider Miami, when their Star is looking elsewhere? That should tell them that Miami is not all that Great of a place to be. If Lebron or Bosh want to win they better come to the Windy City where Rose, Noah and the Greatest fans are!!!
"Umm why aren't Paxson and Forman camped outside LeBron's doorstep at midnight instead of wasting their time with Wade on Thursday"
My guess would be that James camp is running the show and has already set up appointments with each team. No need to camp in front of his door if they are scheduled to meet with him already. Same goes for the rest of the FA.
Waste of time.Wade is a Spy for the heat forget him.
Hmmm, indeed. Here's what I'm thinking. Based from talking to Lebron, Wade knows that Lebron wants to come to Chicago. And if Lebron comes to Chicago, he takes Bosh with him. Then Miami gets whoever's left. Great for Chicago. Not good for Wade.
So Wade makes himself available to the Bulls before they talk to Lebron and basically cuts in front of Lebron before the Bulls talk to Lebron so Wade too can have a piece of the pie too. Yes, it's a conspiracy. It is Chicago after all.
It's either that or Wade is Reilly's stool pigeon.
I think this is a waste of time, and wouldn't be surprised if Riley's sneaky a$$ is behind this. This is the same guy who coined the words "Three Peat" just to profit off the Bulls success. But if he is sincere then I wouldn't mind him on the Bulls, after all that was the plan for he past year and a half before all the LeBron hype. Maybe he wants to be closer to his kids, but I highly doubt it. Regardless the Bulls have to swing for he fences and connect, no matter who it is.
Umm why aren't Paxson and Forman camped outside LeBron's doorstep at midnight instead of wasting their time with Wade on Thursday
Interesting point here, but I do not expect Wade to sign on, his familiy is in Chicago so he must at least take a look, but with the marital problems I feel he is better off in Miami. You have to shoot for the moon (LeBron, Bosh, Wade), to at least be up there with the Stars, getting one out of three is a must this off-season, but we better look hard at the 3rd tier Free agents to see who fits best with our ball club, it might come down to it in the long run......
This is a waste of time. When Wade badmouthed the Bulls in late may he was telling everybody who would listen in no uncertain terms that he was staying in Miami and recruiting for them to boot. The Bulls still need to go through the motions here but not take to much time doing it. Focus on a big man to pair with Noah and a two guard type to pair with Rose and let Wade keep being Pat Riley's recruiter. I wish Wade the best and a picture in my mind of he and Rose the two home town/home grown guys in the same Bulls back-court is a terrific thought but Wade has already decided to stay in Miami. Frankly Im actually a bit irritated he is recruiting for the heat from Chicago... Go do that crap in south florida Dwayne, heck they even named the county after you for the month. Do Riley's dirty work for him from there!!!
he's distracting them from lebron
Screw Wade. The Bulls are doing their due diligence, yes, but he's not going anywhere.
And I've lost all respect for him in the past month or so after he made those remarks about the Bulls' organization not being loyal to its former players (which were ignorant and untrue) and also how he's trying to be the ringleader and orchestrate who goes where in free agency.
Know your role... you're a player; let management decide the best course for the Miami Heat.
Are the Bulls really this dumb? Wasting TIME to speak with a guy who has OPENLY said he wants to stay in Miami! WHAT ARE THE BULLS THINKING!?!?!?!
Wade and Bosh...that's the way to go.
If LBJ goes back to Cleveland, then the Bulls would need Wade and Bosh to beat him.
He's a hometown kid that is would be great for Chicago, on and off the court. I hope the Bulls' management throws their best pitch at him, Bosh and Henry Thomas.
F Wade