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Chicago Bulls shooting guard Dwyane Wade was clear on his take of NBA free agency, saying it's a much different scope than what it used to be before guys like him came into the league.
“The league is different today,” Wade told ESPN's Nick Friedell. “The league is all about relationships, player relationships. Obviously presidents and GMs have their job to do to put teams together, but when it comes to free agency, that's player relationships more than anything. It's where an individual wants to go, so you have to feel comfortable with where you're going and who you're going with. And it starts in that process. Maybe you have a relationship with a guy, maybe you don't, but it starts in that process when guys are able to reach out to you and you see.”
Wade, of course was the cornerstone of a Miami Heat team ever since he was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. The Robbins, Illinois native left his 13-year tenure in South Beach to pursue a championship with his hometown Bulls.
“If the star player on the team doesn't reach out to me then I don't think he's really excited about me coming there,” Wade continued. “If Jimmy (Butler) don't reach out to me then I'm not coming to Chicago because I don't think Jimmy wants me here. But Jimmy reaches out to me and says, ‘D, I want you to come,' it's a different — that's simple right there. It's hard to change my mindset and everything.”
Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg wholeheartedly agreed with the idea, saying it goes even farther than just the NBA.
Article Continues Below“It definitely is a different era,” Hoiberg said. “There's no doubt about that. And it does start at the AAU level when those guys are playing against each other. Really since, shoot, going all the way back to eighth or ninth grade the way it is now. Then just the relationships they build over the summers. These guys all seem to get together in L.A. or Miami or wherever it might be. So they build those relationships, they play together with Team USA now and they do build those special bonds.
“So yeah, it probably is a little easier to reach out. You see some of the superteams now that are being created, and I think a lot of that has to do with relationships that are built over the summer.”
Hoiberg though, is nostalgic of his time in the NBA, when rivalries between teams were real and the league knew certain players would never end up in their rival's roster.
“I kind of liked that we hated each other,” he said, drawing some chuckles from the assembled media.
“These guys are together so much in their offseasons,” Hoiberg said, noting the difference in eras. “It wasn't like that in the past. A lot of people worked out in the cities that they played in, maybe had an offseason home. But it's just a different environment now, it's a different structure the way people approach their offseasons. There's a lot more working out in the offseason. Before, it was great — you got to play golf all summer. Now you're in the gym every day. Again, a lot of that is with other players, a lot of them have their personal workout guys and they'll do it together with a group of players. So I do think it's different.”
Wade reiterated that his experience with free agency the past two seasons wasn't the most pleasant.
“I cannot sit here and explain to anyone what it's like to be a free agent,” Wade said. “And what it's like to have to make a decision about where you're going. And no one ever thought I would leave Miami. No one ever thought I would be in a Chicago Bulls jersey, but I am, so things happen. And you never know what can happen when it comes to free agency.”
