Dwyane Wade was masterful in his introductory press conference on Friday. He expressed excitement about joining his hometown Chicago Bulls and swatted away concerns about how he'll mesh with Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo. When a reporter brought up the matter of whose team the Bulls will be, he handled it like the pro that he is.

"I think it's Jerry Reinsdorf's team," Wade laughed. "It's Jerry Reinsdorf's team. I think, you know, it's funny to be sitting in this seat. I remember when Shaquille O'Neal came to Miami. Coming from the Lakers, three championships, came to Miami, we had no championships at the time. And I remember his press conference. And I was playing in the Olympics at the time, like Jimmy is right now. And I remember Shaq said, 'We're not going to go through this all year." He said, 'It's Dwyane Wade's team.' So we're not going to go through this all year. This is Jimmy Butler's team. Myself and Rondo are here to bring what we bring as athletes to this team and to this city."

Wade knew the question was coming, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say. Rondo, by the way, is on the same page. Butler is the future of the Bulls, and while Wade and Rondo are more accomplished, he is the best of the three right now.

"He's a 26-year-old that can play 40 minutes if coach wants him to, and maybe more," Wade said. "I ain't trying to do all that. And we're going to depend on him a lot. This is a guy who I've known since Marquette University -- a great university, by the way -- that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. And as much as Gar [Forman] and John Paxson and everyone did an amazing job of making sure that this could happen, this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler called me and told me he wanted me here. And that was huge because at the time I didn't know."

Dwyane Wade meets the media in Chicago
Look at that Bulls-branded bottled water. USATSI

It's smart of Wade to frame it this way. As well as raving about Butler's commitment to winning, he said that he and Rondo will make Butler even better. This is a response to the criticism that Chicago has taken for its offseason, which, beyond the signing of older, slower players after stating that it wanted to be faster and more athletic, has involved signing two ball-dominant guards when it was supposed to be making Butler the primary playmaker.

The worry, essentially, is that Wade and Rondo will get in Butler's way. Wade directly addressed that line of thinking, saying that no one knows how the three of them will play together until they get on the court. Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said earlier this month that "great players always figure it out," and that appears to be the opinion of everyone involved.

Personally, I have some doubts about these three players fitting together. If it works, though, then it will be partially because everyone appears to know that the offense should revolve around Butler. It's extremely early, but that's a positive.