The Chicago Bulls will have a busy summer trying to tie up the loose ends for their 2017-18 season roster.
One of the main question marks for them at the moment is their starting guard Dwyane Wade, who holds a $23.8 million player option for next season. This year was sort of a disaster with a roster not necessarily constructed for the strengths of coach Fred Hoiberg but the Bulls scraped into the playoffs as an 8th seed by season's end, and were eventually eliminated by the Boston Celtics in six games.
Wade who finally found himself playing in front of his hometown looked more like a shell of his former self, while many felt the team was never a good fit for him from the beginning.
To make things all the more interesting, Miami Heat president Pat Riley expressed regret about how things turned out, and said he wished he would have given Wade more incentive to stay in South Beach. Maybe he'd do a bit differently if given the chance to make what he felt was wrong into a right.
That may not be completely off the table because Wade can become a free agent if he chooses to do so, and the Heat would have another opportunity to court him back if they made amends. It might sound like a long shot, but even the Cleveland Cavaliers patched things up with LeBron James after the entire ‘Decision' fiasco had marred their relationship.
Some in the Bulls camp feel Wade is leaning towards returning to Chicago, which will then only leave the question of what role he would play next season.
After the Bulls' exit interviews, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune had a few moments to speak to Wade about his decision, and what he expects to happen next season.
“I'm an open-minded person. I'm always open to a lot of things. That's never been presented to me. I've never had that. But I will never be a person that says, ‘Oh, never.' If it's the right situation, you do what's best for the team and yourself.”
This is certainly a new situation for Wade as an individual player, but what factors could influence his decision and why do those close to the Bulls feel he is learning towards returning?
Wade is now 36-years-old, and will be a year older into next season. It won't be easy getting a team to field him equal to or more than a $23.8 million contract at his age with the wear and tear on his body. One thing that is not in question is that he has likely seen his last big NBA contract.
Although he played a role from the bench last season, would Wade be open to being relegated as a role player coming off the bench with the second unit? Along with that Wade has been playing career and season low in minutes the last two season, and it's expected that trend won't stop now.
Whatever is most important to him at this point of his career will always be the biggest influence on his decision, but only Wade knows for sure. The Bulls' brass feels things are tipped in their favor, that is unless Wade feels money is not everything in this situation.
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