The Chicago Bulls made a pitch to one of the most coveted free-agents not named LeBron James Thursday morning when Dwyane Wade dropped by the United Center for a visit.
Despite rumors that Wade was sour on the Bulls as a destination, the Heat star’s agent, Henry Thomas, said Dwyane is excited by the possibility of playing for his hometown team, and that he hasn’t made up his mind on where to play next year quite yet.
"Dwyane has always said in approaching this day that he wanted his first visit to be with the team he grew up idolizing and imagining one day he would wear that uniform," Thomas said in an exclusive interview. "There's just a small number of teams that he is going to listen to and Chicago was certainly the top of the list."
The more than hour-long interview with Bulls management went well, Thomas said. The Bulls’ presentation reportedly centered on youth, opportunity to win and the city itself.
"It was a very good presentation." Thomas said.
Wade left the United Center in a dark SUV and made a "peace" gesture out the window.
Two hours after Chicago's pitch, Miami's contingent - which included Alonzo Mourning -- arrived at Thomas' Chicago office to make theirs. But they weren’t in the mood to chat with Chicago media.
"I can't talk right now, thank you" Pat Riley told NBC Chicago. The Heat are positioning themselves to make a pitch the three biggest stars on the market: Wade, James, and Chris Bosh.
Wade has always been impressed with how the Heat treat their star players and expressed concern over Chicago's treatment of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. The Bulls addressed the criticism by pointing out the number of players the Chicago organization has been loyal to over the years.
The Bulls will meet with Bosh -- who’s in town already -- in person on Friday. Upon his arrival at his agent's office in Chicago, Bosh said, "stay tuned."
