Dwyane Wade tells Bulls he's picking up $24M option for 2017-18
— -- CHICAGO -- Dwyane Wade has informed the? Bulls that he will pick up his $23.8 million player option for next season, a league source said.?
Team personnel have believed for several months that the 35-year-old would pick up the option because it was highly unlikely he would be offered that much money on the open market.
Now that Wade has made his decision, the Bulls must focus on whether they are going to move Jimmy Butler at some point before Thursday night's NBA draft. League sources say the Bulls' front office continues to listen to potential offers for the All-Star swingman and there is more momentum for a full-scale rebuild within the organization than there has been in years past. Butler and Wade developed a quick friendship last season as Butler credited Wade many times with helping him improve his game.
Wade signed with the Bulls last summer amid much hype after 13 seasons with the Miami Heat. In 60 regular-season games last season, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He spoke openly about how happy he was to be playing for the team he grew up cheering for as a kid in the Chicagoland area.
After helping the Bulls get off to a solid start in the first month of the season, Wade saw his numbers drop considerably in the second half of the season. The most memorable sequence of Wade's first year in Chicago came after a Jan. 25 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks in which the Bulls blew a double-digit lead late in the fourth quarter. After the game, Wade, along with Butler, ripped his younger teammates and questioned their effort.
"I don't know what happened," Wade said. "But we continue to be in these kinds of situations and lose games like this. Everyone don't care enough. You got to care enough, man. It's got to mean that much to you to want to win. And it doesn't. So I don't know what happened.
"I don't know how you fix it. It just doesn't mean enough to guys around here to want to win ballgames. It pisses me off, but I can't be frustrated, and I can't care too much for these guys. They have to care for themselves. You got to do better. You got to do better with knowing where your shot's coming and knock them down. You got to do better with knowing film, knowing personnel. Just as a team, just got to do better, man."
The following day, in an Instagram post, veteran point guard Rajon Rondo ripped Wade and Butler for their public comments. The respect level that so many within the organization had for Wade to start the season was never the same after that event.
CSNChicago.com first reported Wade's intention to pick up his option.
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