CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers could finalize a deal with free-agent guard Dwyane Wade as early as Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Dwyane Wade is nearing a commitment to sign with Cleveland and could finalize decision as soon as Wednesday, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 26, 2017
Bought out of his contract with the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Wade immediately became a free agent as every team around the league was starting training camp ahead of the 2017-2018 season, and reports quickly linked him to his former teammate with the Miami Heat, LeBron James.
Three years ago, James initiated the split of Miami’s “Big Three” when he returned to the Cavaliers after a four-year run with the Heat, but since that time, he has talked about wanting to play on the same team as Wade, as well as Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
In 14 NBA seasons, Wade has averaged 23.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals over 915 career games with the Heat and Bulls.
During his one and only season for the Bulls, his hometown team, Wade averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals. Due to injuries, Wade was limited to just 60 games in 2016-2017, but has played in at least 60 contests for three straight seasons, something he had not been healthy enough to do since the 2008/2009-2010/2011 seasons.
In 172 career playoff games, 166 with the Heat and six with the Bulls, Wade has averaged 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 47.4 percent from the field, 34.2 percent from three-point range and 77.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Adding Wade would give the Cavaliers another player with what James has often referred to as “Championship DNA,” as they won two titles together with the Heat. Also, Wade teamed with National Basketball Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal on Miami’s NBA Championship team of 2005-2006.
Despite coming up on the losing end of The Finals for the fifth time in eight trips last June, James made NBA history against the Warriors, as he became the first player in league history to average a triple-double in the championship series.
James averaged 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists while shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three-point range against the Warriors.
