Earlier in the offseason, one of the bigger storylines was whether or not Dwyane Wade would opt out to the final year of his contract with the Chicago Bulls and become a free agent. Wade ultimately chose to opt in, because, well, who would turn down $24 million?
Now, however, with the Bulls having sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, and the team set to be cellar dwellers, the question is how much of the season, if any at all, will Wade spend in Chicago before his contract is bought out.
Whenever that happens, Wade is expected to join a contender -- perhaps Cleveland to play with his close friend LeBron James -- as he wants to play for a title again before his career is over. Which, at 35 years old, is going to be sooner rather than later.
Recently, Wade made that much clear, if it wasn't already, in an interview with NBATV's David Aldridge. Transcription of that interview via the Miami Herald:
First of all, obviously, everyone wants to compete," Wade said. "It's no secret. We would all love to compete for a championship at the end of my career. That is one thing I would love to do. I'm not in a position right now to do that, so I can't talk about what that preference is. Hopefully, one day before I'm done playing this game, I can be back in position to compete for a championship."
Aldridge asked whether it's fair to say he will report to the Bulls and provide leadership but "in a perfect world" would "be back on another team that can compete."
Responded Wade: "Definitely, definitely. It's no secret. And everyone knows that. I've been lucky. I've been to five Finals. So If I never go to another one, I can't complain. But I would love to. I would love to, because I feel I can add to something a team that's in that position. That's not something I can focus on or something I can worry about right now."
None of this is really surprising in any way; who wouldn't want to win more titles? But perhaps it's a bit interesting that Wade is so open about his desire to get out of Chicago after just one season.
