Veteran forward Udonis Haslem is the latest Heat player to express interest in bringing back Dwyane Wade if he agrees to a buyout in Chicago, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Interest in the possibility was reignited with a report Wednesday that Wade and the Bulls could part ways at some point this season.
Wade has a $23.8MM salary and doesn’t seem to fit on a team that started rebuilding by trading Jimmy Butler and not re-signing Rajon Rondo. A buyout is always a possibility, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, but the Bulls haven’t changed their position that it would have to be “advantageous” to them, meaning Wade would have to give up a substantial amount of money.
He would have several options if that happens, with one obvious choice being a return to Miami, where he spent the first 13 seasons of his NBA career.
“I talk to D-Wade every day,” Haslem said today on radio station WQAM. “My advice to D-Wade and his advice has always been to me is, ‘Take it one day at a time. Just take it one day at a time, step by step.’ We kind of understand the direction that Chicago is going in. We kind of understand the direction that Dwyane wants to go in the last couple of years of his career. The business side of things sometimes doesn’t always allow both sides to co-exist.”
On Tuesday, Heat center Hassan Whiteside sent out a GIF on social media indicating he would like to see Wade return, and Dion Waiters endorsed the idea on Twitter in July.
The Heat are well over the salary cap after re-signing Waiters and James Johnson this summer and adding Kelly Olynyk in free agency. However, they have retained their mid-level exception, which gives them up to $4.3MM to offer Wade.
Winderman notes that a crowded backcourt could hinder the move, with Waiters and Goran Dragic cemented as starters and Tyler Johnson, Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder and Wayne Ellington in reserve. There’s also the possibility that Wade could find a reunion with LeBron James in Cleveland more desirable than a return to Miami.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they move TJ this season before his cap hit balloons. If that’s the case there might be a fit for Wade especially with some teams running out 3 guards at once.