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The Chicago Bulls recently bought out the contract of shooting guard Dwyane Wade, and with the season only a few weeks away, he sought to quickly find a new team. After checking in with a few predictable suspects, the 12-time All-Star is set to join good buddy LeBron James, as the newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While it’s not surprising that Wade chose Cleveland, what is surprising is that the Golden State Warriors were interested. Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype reported that the ink had barely dried on Wade’s buyout when the Dubs hopped on the phone with the three-time champion. Ultimately, talks didn’t progress very far:
The talks were brief because it was unclear what role Wade would play with Golden State.
Throughout his decision-making process, Wade made it clear to interested teams that he wants to play significant minutes on a contender. The Warriors weren’t clear about his playing time, so both parties moved on.
Wade would have been a slightly odd fit with the Warriors. While he clearly has talent (he averaged 18.3 points per game last year, and has a career average of 23.3), his offensive game runs a bit perpendicular to the Dubs’ schemes. Wade is a poor three-point shooter who prefers to hold the ball and slash to the rim, whereas the Warriors tend to move the ball quickly and take a large number of threes.
Ultimately, it’s quite likely that Nick Young will be a better fit for the Warriors off the bench. And since Golden State already has 15 guaranteed contracts, someone would have to be waived (presumably Kevon Looney) to make room for another player.
Still, the addition of Wade would have been a lot of fun, if for no other reason than to see the angry reactions from fans of other teams.