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UPDATE:
Peak Bulls?
Sources: Bulls cancelled meeting, flight kept getting pushed back. If Wade is still serious, Chicago could travel to meet him on Thursday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 6, 2016
*****
As Ricky detailed over the weekend, the Bulls have a long history of being suckers to Dwyane Wade as he tries to get more money from the Miami Heat. With a few of their tens of yearly decisions already made this offseason, a few of them really poor ones, why not concentrate (LOL) on bringing Dwyane Wade home?
It looked as recently as Tuesday morning where Wade was staying put and meetings with other teams were cancelled. But it's back on!
Sources on @TheVertical: Beyond Denver meeting for Dwyane Wade in New York today: Milwaukee, Chicago meetings set. Miami possible too now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 6, 2016
Denver's been the most monetarily aggressive with a 2-year, $52m offer. After taking discounts for Miami the past couple seasons, it seems like Wade just wants as much as he can, and is looking for three years. The Bulls, per Woj, are the closest in doing that by offering a partial guarantee on the third year.
KC Johnson has the Bulls representatives 'engaged' (LOL) with Wade's people but KC won't confirm a meeting just yet. As he notes, the Bulls only have $10m in cap space currently, but could move the 1-year contracts of Taj Gibson ($9m), Mike Dunleavy ($4.8m), and Jose Calderon ($7.7m). Calderon could be waived with the stretch provision, spreading out his cap hit to ~$2.5m over the next three years. Taj ideally would actually get the Bulls an asset in return, and really should be moved regardless to get Mirotic more minutes...though that matters less if he has to share the ball with Jimmy Butler, Rajon Rondo (LOL), and Dwyane Wade.
So you're probably thinking: why? wha? who? Gar?
I mean, I hear ya. You have to remember though, this key thing: the Bulls have no idea what they're doing and don't have the organizational structure to conceive or execute a plan. So their plan with the Rose trade was to get younger, but then they sign friggin' Rajon Rondo to preserve 2017 cap space, but now they'll look to sign Dwyane Wade to negate both of those things.
After the Rondo signing, I'm for just getting Wade too. Wade can still play, and while an awful stylistic and chemistry fit, Rondo is already sabotaging that anyway. Go beyond being an unlikeable also-ran, might as well go full-on nonsense and get them both. Try to make the playoffs and win over the fans they've antagonized, either it works out where they look competitive and buzz-y for free agents next year or it blows up and everyone gets fired.