Free agent Dwyane Wade appears to have some options this summer. The 36-year-old NBA veteran, who started last season with the Cavaliers before being traded to the Heat midseason, reportedly has a "monster" three-year contract on the table worth $25 million from the Zhejiang Golden Bulls in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Wade, whose cap hit was just under $1.5 million last season, would arguably be the biggest name to cross over to the CBA from the NBA. He'd join some former NBA players like Jimmer Fredette and Brandon Jennings. Ex-Knicks star Stephon Marbury breathed an entire second life into his career in China as he's played on four different CBA teams since joining the league in 2010 with the Brave Dragons. His career just concluded in February with the Beijing Fly Dragons at the age of 41.
Wade signing with the Golden Bulls would be a big deal for both sides -- especially for the CBA as it's rare such a big name goes overseas. Even Fredette, who has been a star with the Shanghai Sharks, is making an estimated $1.8 million on a two-year deal in China. In 2016, Fredette won the CBA MVP while averaging 37.6 points per game.
Expect the decision from Wade to happen soon, as he will reportedly need to make his decision over the next 2-3 days or the Golden Bulls will pull their offer in search of other foreign players.
Per @ZhangDuo15: Zhejiang Golden Bulls will wait D-Wade's response for 2-3 days. If he don't accept the 3 year $25M deal, the team will look for other foreign players instead of D-Wade.(via Beijing Youth Daily )
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) July 25, 2018
Wade averaged just under 23 minutes and scored 11.4 points per game last season. He gave Heat fans a few vintage moments, but those were definitely the highlights of the season. Although he's not the player that he once was, he could end up following Marbury's footsteps, but he'd be joining at an older age than Marbury did. All-in-all, the move is heavily based on star power, but it could be a good move for Wade if he's willing to make it.
For what it's worth, Wade is already very involved in China. He's been touring the country and just signed a lifetime deal with Chinese shoe brand Li-Ning last week. With that in mind, it could be a shrewd move in terms of branding, but his NBA status is still unknown for the time being.
