Dwyane Wade Calls The Bulls 'Jimmy Butler's Team'
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Using the wisdom he's accumulated in a 13-year NBA career in which he's played alongside one of the greatest players in history, Dwyane Wade deftly handled a topic that everyone has been wondering since he agreed to a two-year deal on July 6 to come to Chicago.
Whose team are the Bulls?
"It's Jerry Reinsdorf's team," Wade said with a laugh.
Moments later, Wade made a point to get out in front of a storyline he knows will accompany the Bulls all year after a disappointing 2015-'16 season was followed by a surprising, high-profile free agency. Wade made clear he's here to be two-time All-Star wing Jimmy Butler's wingman and mentor.
"It's funny to be sitting in this seat," Wade said Friday at his introductory press conference at the Advocate Center. "I remember when Shaquille O'Neal came to Miami, coming from the Lakers, three championships. We had no championships at the time. I remember his press conference. I was playing in the Olympics, like Jimmy is right now. I remember Shaq said, 'We're not going to go through this all year. It's Dwyane Wade's team.' So we're not going to go through this all year: This is Jimmy Butler's team.
"Myself and (Rajon) Rondo are here to bring what we bring as athletes to this team and to this city. He's a young Bull on this team. He's a 26-year-old that can play 40 minutes if coach wants him to and maybe more. I ain't trying to do all that."
The 34-year-old Wade and Butler are both Marquette products, though their relationship previously has been one of mutual respect from afar. Now, how well they mesh on the floor and in the locker room will go a long way toward determining how successful the Bulls are.
The off-the-court part is off to a promising start. Wade cited Butler as one of the biggest reasons he joined the Bulls, pointing out they were in communication during free agency.
"This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Jimmy Butler," Wade said. "Jimmy Butler called me and told me he wanted me here. That was huge. Because at the time, I didn't know. Think about it, hometown kid Derrick Rose here and he finally leaves and (Joakim) Noah, who is very known here, leaves. It's now Jimmy's team. To want to bring in a guy like myself and Rondo shows what he's about. He's about winning."
In an ironic twist, Wade also addressed the topic of how the Bulls could've been his team six years ago. Back in summer 2010, Wade met with the Bulls twice in free agency and seriously considered coming to Chicago.
His interest was such that he took a photo of himself in a Bulls uniform and saved it on his phone. Wade would choose to stay in Miami because playing with LeBron James and Chris Bosh was only possible there, and they'd go on to win two championships while appearing in four straight NBA Finals.
"It's a notion out there that somehow, some way, that I used the Bulls for some sort of leverage," Wade recalled Friday of 2010. "I don't know how a 28-year-old in his prime that can be maxed out anywhere can use a team for leverage. We talked about this at dinner: This was a place I really wanted to be. It's a place my heart really pulled me towards. But I had an opportunity of a lifetime to play with two great players in LeBron and Chris. And as hard as Chicago tried, they couldn't get all three of us together. Miami was that place for all of us to go to. There were times these last 13 years that I envisioned myself being here. They gave me a Bulls jersey at that meeting in 2010. I went home, put it on, took a picture, erased the picture. That was before I knew the iCloud could recover pictures."
No longer does Wade have to hide his affinity for the Bulls.
"This is one of those moments for me that is a dream come true," Wade said. "Simple as that. I'm a Chicago guy, a Chicago kid."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. He's also the co-host of the @LockedOnBulls podcast, which you can subscribe to on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.