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Dwyane Wade was perfect in his introductory press conference with the Bulls

Wade showed an incredible amount of poise and grace in his introductory press conference in Chicago.

By Ricky O'Donnell
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Dwyane Wade is really good at this. That was the main takeaway as the Bulls introduced the eldest of the 3 Alphas on Friday afternoon at the Advocate Center. If it didn't feel real before, it does now:

From Chicago, Illinois... #3... @dwyanewade!

A video posted by NBA (@nba) on

Wade spoke about watching the Bulls win their first championship as a 9-year-old and dreaming about playing in Chicago. He called back to Shaquille O'Neal joining the Heat in 2004 and telling Wade it was his team. Then said the same thing about Jimmy Butler as Butler stood in the back of the room:

Wade said he didn't make this decision for anyone but himself. He acknowledged that leaving Miami was hard for him and even harder for his family, but that it was something he wanted to do. He talked about a lifetime of battles with Rajon Rondo and his excitement to play with a point guard who has a ring and loves to get his teammates involved.

More than anything, Wade handled every question thrown his way with poise and grace. It's easy to be cynical about this signing (and this website has been), but Wade's introduction was undeniably impressive. The Bulls have an adult in the room now, which should help Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis, Cristiano Felicio and especially Butler. Wade admitted that Butler was a big part of the recruitment efforts to get him to leave Miami.

Is it possible that this is the most optimistic we feel about the Bulls all season? Of course. But if nothing else, seeing Wade ace his introduction should at least allow us to give this a chance. The shooting and ball pounding concerns aren't going away, but it certainly doesn't seem like Wade is heading here with a big ego. He said Butler will play big minutes and he'll simply try to be productive when he's on the floor. He believes the Bulls can have success without shooters because he's always had success that way. He has full trust in Rondo and can't wait to work with him.

Maybe the entire thing will crash and burn and the Bulls will look like fools nine months from now. But at least for a day, the signing of Dwyane Wade looked like an inspired move. You can watch the whole thing here: