Dwyane Wade has agreed to sign a two-year, $47.5M deal with his hometown Bulls "pending the completion of trades that would clear cap space," ending a 13-year run with the Heat that included three NBA titles, according to a front-page piece by Manny Navarro of the MIAMI HERALD. The relationship with the Heat "ended on bad terms," with Wade, Heat President Pat Riley and the club "squabbling over his contract." Heat Owner Micky Arison, who was "able to mend the fences a year ago when Riley and Wade were at an impasse," met with Wade in N.Y. yesterday to "try and smooth things over." However, that "didn’t work." The Bulls did not meet with Wade in N.Y., but began "ramping up their efforts to sway him back home" late last night. This coming season will "mark the first time in Wade's career he's the highest paid player on his team" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/7). In Miami, Ethan Skolnick notes the Bulls contract is roughly $7M "more than the Heat had belatedly offered" and "was actually more than the Heat ever offered since there was no increase" when Arison met with Wade. Arison tried to fix the relationship between the team and Wade, but it was "already too fractured, for a second consecutive summer." Wade this year "actually had options, something that some inside the Heat organization always ... doubted" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/7). CSN Chicago's Vincent Goodwill noted there was a "lot of bad blood" between Wade and the Heat from "previous contract negotiations" ( "SportsNet Central," CSN Chicago, 7/6).
STILL SINKING IN: Wade addressed his move to the Bulls this morning while hosting "Live with Kelly." Host Kelly Ripa jokingly asked Wade, "So, what's up? Anything exciting happen to you last night?" Wade called last night a "long, long night for me" and said it was "still surreal" after playing for the Heat for 13 seasons. He said, "You get a week to decide what you're going to do, and I didn't get no sleep." Wade noted he is "excited" to play in Chicago, his hometown, calling it the "place I've always envisioned playing basketball ( "Live with Kelly," 7/7). ESPN"s Brian Windhorst notes Wade leaving is a PR hit" for the Heat, and while they are "going to be able to rebound from this ... it is going to hurt in the short-term losing their franchise player" ( "SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/7).
RILEY STICKS TO HIS PRINCIPLES: In West Palm Beach, Dave George notes it is time for Riley, who "consistently kicked the Wade problem down the road, to kick himself." He "was bullheaded about making Wade an offer until Kevin Durant was wooed by the Heat, and now they’re both playing elsewhere, making other teams stronger, making Miami appear irrelevant" (PALM BEACH POST, 7/7). THE VERTICAL's Chris Mannix writes Riley "has an obligation to Wade; he's admitted as much," but he "has a larger duty to the Heat." There was a "line, and Riley was as unwilling to move it as Wade was to stand behind it" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/7). In DC, Tim Bontemps writes Riley "hasn’t earned his reputation as 'The Godfather' accidentally." He has had a habit of finding a way to "make things work out for himself, and for the Heat, exactly how he’d like them to time and time again." Wade leaving the Heat "isn’t the storybook ending everyone would’ve liked," but it is "the best outcome for" Riley (WASHINGTON POST, 7/7).
BOTTOM-LINE BUSINESS: NBA TV's David Aldridge notes it is "always difficult when you're talking about business at the end of a great player's career because the great player wants to be recognized for everything he's done for you, and the team a lot of times does not want to pay that. … They said, 'We're not going to give away an asset … to get Dwyane Wade a few more million dollars when we're offering him $20 million.' Now businesswise, that might make all the sense in the world. But basketball, like any sport, is more of an emotional business, more of a fan base business and it's hard to explain to fans how your iconic franchise face is now going to be playing in Chicago the last two years of his career" ( "NBA GameTime," NBA TV, 7/7). CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger wrote Wade signing with the Bulls "means the NBA has been turned upside-down more than ever before." Berger: "This is the man who built and defined a franchise leaving after 13 years, a basketball eternity. ... At once, we should be both unsurprised and unnerved" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/6). In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes the curtain "has been yanked back on 'family' and 'trust,' and 'Heat Lifer' and every other mythological underpinning of a blue-ribbon franchise to the point its in an uncomfortable predicament today and for its immediate tomorrows." It is a "day a proud franchise's ideals of trust, sacrifice and family looks as empty as this season will be" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/7).
BIG LOSS FOR SOUTH FLORIDA: USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt writes Wade made a "stunning decision," considering his "connection to Heat fans, the city and South Florida" (USA TODAY, 7/7). THE VERTICAL's Michael Lee wrote Wade's departure "obliterates the surprise meter in an NBA offseason that continues to provide fascinating, eye-popping fodder." No player "wore a Heat jersey longer and more triumphantly; no exit feels more unfathomable for South Florida" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/6). In Miami, Greg Cote writes Wade has been the "face of the franchise, a steady and beloved presence." Only Dan Marino "merits the company of Wade among pro athletes who have meant the most to South Florida" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/7). In Ft. Lauderdale, Ira Winderman in a front-page piece writes Wade pushed Marino "for the most popular in South Florida sports history" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 7/7). In Miami, Dan Le Batard writes Wade "is the most beloved athlete South Florida has ever had, its greatest champion" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/7).
COMING HOME: In Chicago, K.C. Johnson writes Wade's move "continues a wild offseason in which the Bulls drastically altered their lineup" by acquiring C Robin Lopez from the Knicks in the Derrick Rose deal and "receiving a verbal commitment" from free agent G Rajon Rondo. The Bulls "hosted Wade twice" in '10 free agency, so he "had a strong familiarity with the front office" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/7). Also in Chicago, Mike McGraw writes Wade "can work as the Bulls' lead recruiter next summer as they try to land another star" (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 7/7). However, the SUN-TIMES' Joe Cowley writes the addition of Wade "continued a rash of offseason decisions by the Bulls that have many scratching their heads" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/7).
