For a lot of people, it never seemed like Dwyane Wade would leave the Miami Heat two summers ago. Sure, he was a free agent coveted by teams — and he met with the Chicago Bulls — but was more about recruiting LeBron James and Chris Bosh to join him in South Beach rather than bolting.
But he admits there was a time when his hometown of Chicago got heavy consideration.
Wade was on Chicago Tribune Live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and said it was not an easy decision for him at all.
“It was very tough, it was one of the hardest decision I had to make in my life,” Wade explained.
“I’m a Chicago guy and I grew up idolizing the Chicago Bulls, idolizing Michael Jordan and wanted to wear that jersey. So the day I went for the Chicago visit and they gave me the No. 3 jersey, I mean, that day messed me up. I went back home and I had the jersey on and, I mean, I turned into a kid again.”
But the adult in him saw Bosh coming to Miami not long after that, and a few days later LeBron’s decision, and Wade knew where his best opportunity to win a ring was.
But think about a Derrick Rose and Wade backcourt in Chicago… that would have been fun to watch. They would have worked out the challenges as Wade and LeBron did, and… sorry Bulls fans. It’s hard to live in a world of “what if.”