It was just a simple workout for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade but it fuelled speculations that the close friends and former Miami Heat will be reunited soon with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wade and James worked out together in Los Angeles, working through drills prepared by a member of the Cavaliers' player development staff at UCLA.
James posted a video of his workout with Wade on his Instagram account with a caption “Always great when I can link back up on court and put some work in with my brother @dwyanewade!!
It just feels different.” It also carries hashtags #Brotherhood and #striveforgreatness. Wade and James played together with the Heat for four years, carrying the franchise to back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, James returned to the Cavaliers while Wade left the Heat last season and signed a two-year, $47.5 million deal with the Bulls as a free agent.
Wade expected to get buyout from Bulls
Wade is expected to get a buyout from his $23.8 million contract with the Chicago Bulls in the coming months. After he’s released, Wade is anticipated to be reunited with James with the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers can sign Wade to a contract worth $2.4 million. However, the Cavaliers are not totally locked in on Wade as the Los Angeles Lakers are also interested in pursuing the veteran. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that the Heat are also willing to sign Wade if he’s ready to accept a role off the bench.
Wade deceived into exercising player option
The 35-year-old Wade had a roller-coaster season in his first year with the Bulls, where he averaged 18.3 points, his lowest scoring output since his rookie year, to go with 4.5 boards and 3.8 assists per outing. The Bulls struggled early in the season but bounced back and finished the season with a 41-41 mark, making it to the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.
They almost scored a huge upset when they took a 2-0 lead over the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics. However, veteran point guard Rajon Rondo went down with an injury, allowing the Celtics to take the last four games of the best-of-seven series.
After the season, the Bulls promised Wade to build a competitive team for next season, prompting the veteran to exercise the player option in his contract. However, the Bulls traded superstar Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves on a draft day and released Rondo, signaling that they will be in rebuilding mode in the coming season.