The Dwyane Wade meetings are over and everybody is reportedly optimistic
Outside of his meetings with the Bucks and Nuggets, Wade reportedly met with Miami owner Micky Arison
Dwyane Wade's Wednesday meetings for possible free agent landing spots have concluded and the majority of the teams involved, whether they attended a meeting with the Miami Heat free agent or not seem pretty optimistic it went well for them. The biggest issue for Wade in this free agency has been whether or not he'll get the proper respect he feels he deserves from the Heat in order to re-sign there. He didn't have the leverage he wanted in demanding a contract over $20 million per season for at least three seasons, so he went out there and created the leverage.
Now we wait to see if it actually worked or if he's just made up his mind to find a new team. The three suitors on the table besides the Heat were the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Chicago Bulls. According to various reports, it appears all sides seem pretty optimistic they've got a chance in this thing, and not just because Wade was willing to meet with them in New York for free agency discussions/pitches.
There's the Bulls, who couldn't make the meeting due to some flight issues, but still believe they have a real shot at this thing, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Chicago remains significantly involved in Dwyane Wade pursuit, league sources tell @TheVertical. No meeting today has no bearing on status.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 6, 2016
However, they're so interested in making a serious run at Wade that Wojnarowski is also reporting they've been trying to unload some salaries in order to get far enough under the cap to be competitive in trying to get Wade to sign with them. Apparently, Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy are the two players they're shopping at the moment.
Sources: In last few hours, Bulls calling teams to unload contracts, trying to create space to sign Dwyane Wade. Wade is serious about them.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 6, 2016
Sources: Two players Bulls are calling everyone with space on: Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy. Those contracts get them toward Wade space.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 6, 2016
The Bulls currently have about $8 million in cap space, according to spotrac.com. They need to clear anywhere from $12-17 million in order to get into this thing. Calderon's contract would remove another $7.7 million. Dunleavy's deal is for $4.8 million. If they wanted to get Taj Gibson on the move, his contract is just under $9 million next season.
The Nuggets reportedly believe the meeting with Wade ended with a 50/50 shot of getting him to sign in Denver. Considering he either will or he won't, that 50/50 estimate seems about right on.
On @790TheTicket .... @markkiszla tells us that his Nuggets sources believe they ended meeting with 50/50 shot at Wade
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) July 6, 2016
The Heat's owner Micky Arison met with Wade, and while ESPN's Zach Lowe reported, "No immediate resolution to report," you'd have to wonder if this is just what happens now with the Heat, Pat Riley, Wade and Arison. Last year, things became pretty contentious between Riley and Wade's representatives to the point that Arison stepped in to get the right emotions involved into the situation. It eventually led to a one-year, $20 million deal.
Will the two-year, $40 million offer make this work?
I'm told Dwyane Wade's meeting with Micky Arison is over. No immediate resolution to report.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 6, 2016
Your Heat meeting update: It went well. That's all I know, no more, no less.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) July 6, 2016
The Bucks are under the impression Wade is "very serious about them," according to David Aldridge. The problem is the money. Unless they can move Greg Monroe and his contract, they're unlikely to have the money and cap space to make a competitive offer for his services. So they'd have to rely on him really loving coming back to that city (he went to college at Marquette) or really wanting to play with Khris Middleton, who he respects.
Bucks believe Wade is "very serious" about them. But they can't offer him as much $ as Denver/Miami w/o trading player for pick(s).
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 6, 2016
We will hopefully get a resolution to this situation soon, but Wade still holds all of the cards here, as long as he's truly considering playing for a new team. Otherwise, the leverage still resides with the Heat.
















