Hall of Fame former shooting guard Dwyane Wade almost linked up with his hometown Chicago Bulls while still in his prime. But the best player in his legendary 2003 draft class had other plans.
In the summer of 2010, Wade was part of a loaded free agent class that also included forward LeBron James, big man Chris Bosh, power forward Carlos Boozer, wing Joe Johnson, and power forward Ama’re Stoudemire.
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It was a banner offseason for free agency, the official tip-off of the so-called “player empowerment era.” Where now players often demand trades out of town before even reaching free agency, at the time the best route for adding All-Stars was luring them with free agent pitches.
During an appearance on former championship Heat teammates Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller’s podcast “The OGs” recently, Wade explained that he was all set for a Chicago homecoming in 2010 — six years before he ultimately did make the jump, unfortunately far past his prime.
Dwyane Wade planned on going to the Bulls and was shocked when LeBron James called him to team up on the Heat
“I’m not thinking about playing with him (LeBron), I love our matchups. Then I got a call (from him)”
(Via @theOGsShow, h/t @Jacobtheclipper)
pic.twitter.com/6zy46x4wvb— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) August 5, 2025
“I was like man, I’m going back home – I’m going to Chicago,” Wade said. “I played seven years here, I won a championship, it’s time to go to the next [place]. For me that was my mentality outside of Miami — Miami was still in there [the mix] to me. but I got that call man, I got that call from No. 6.”
The No. 5 pick out of Marquette, Wade quickly emerged as a dynamic two-way superstar in the league. The 6-foot-4 wing earned a title and a Finals MVP with Miami in just his third pro season.
“Plus this is my favorite person besides Kobe [Bryant] to compete against. I’m not thinking about playing with him [LeBron], I love our matchups. Then I got a call. And the call was — ‘Bron was on the call, I was on the call, our agents [were] on the call. And they [were] explaining to us on the call that the Miami had quietly [done] enough so that they could get three star players.”
James talked Wade and Bosh into forming a lethal new “Big Three” triumvirate in South Beach. That trio went on to appear in four consecutive NBA Finals, winning in 2012 and ’13.
Eventually, Wade did take the leap to the Bulls, signing with the club as a free agent in 2016. Unfortunately, by that point he was no longer his 13-time All-Star self, especially as a defender — although he was still an exciting scorer.
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