If he ends up in Miami again, Dwyane Wade’s strange dream may make him feel a lot like Judy Garland. Yup Wade wanted to play for the Chicago Bulls — his hometown team — ever since he grew up watching some guy #23 playing for the Bulls. It was a dream. And despite Wade’s three titles with the Heat, a Finals MVP and a chance to be that rare modern athlete who spends his entire career with one team (a la Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan), Wade chased that dream and left Miami for Chicago last year. It didn’t work out. At all. The Bulls sneaked into the playoffs but bailed out early — and Wade just got himself out of his 2017-18 contract.
Wade is a very hot commodity for a 35-year-old NBA guard, probably because he’s one of the best to ever lace ’em up. And Wade still has gas in the tank, for sure. Speculation is rampant that he’ll join his former teammate LeBron James in Cleveland or even join the Spurs, where his high basketball IQ fits in beautifully. But you know who lurks? The Wizard of Oz, otherwise known as Pat Riley. Riley kicked himself for letting Wade get away last year and has professed his love and admiration for Wade ever since. In thanking Chicago, Wade said “A Dream was fulfilled!!!” If Riley/Oz has his way, that dream will end with Wade right back where he started, like Judy Garland at the end of the Wizard of Oz. Sliding his Heat jersey over his head Wade will tell head coach Erik Spoelstra — aka Auntie Em –“I had the strangest dream…”
A Dream was fulfilled!!! Thank you Chicago!!!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 25, 2017
