After a disappointing season that saw the Chicago Bulls miss the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade, the team has made it a point to bring in big name free agents, and they have landed another one as free guard Dwyane Wade has reportedly signed with the team.
The deal will pay Wade $47 million over two seasons, according to multiple reports.
Wade, a 12-time All-Star who has won three championships in his NBA career with the Miami Heat, had a falling out with the organization and decided to aggressively hit the free agent market, and the Bulls were there to swoop in to make the signing.
The signing couldn't happen until the Bulls cleared salary cap space, according to multiple reports.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Bulls are in the process of finalizing a trade to send Mike Dunleavy to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune is reporting that Dunleavy has been informed that he has indeed been traded to the 2016 NBA champions.
A second player will also be on the move, as Jose Calderon has also reportedly been traded. Wojnarowski is reporting that the point guard, whom the Bulls acquired in the June trade that sent Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks, will be headed to the Los Angeles Lakers, as a trade is being finalized.
The 2015-16 season was a solid one for Wade, as he averaged 19 points and 4.6 assists per game, but injury concerns have continued to hamper him in recent years. He only missed eight games last season, but in the prior two years he missed a combined 38 games while dealing with nagging knee and leg injuries.
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The pursuit of Wade comes six years after their first run at his services, during the remarkable free agency year of 2010. In that season, the Bulls attempted to court both Wade and LeBron James, but after meeting with the Bulls twice Wade decided to remain in Miami and helped convince James to join him on South Beach, where the duo combined to appear in four NBA Finals and win two championships.
Now, Wade joins a Bulls team that is slowly transitioning into a new era. With Fred Hoiberg at the helm, the Bulls are placing an emphasis on acquiring younger talent in certain areas, including Robin Lopez and draft pick Denzel Valentine, but they aren’t staying away from veterans either, as they’ve also signed Rajon Rondo to a free agent contract.
