The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to gear up to make a run at LeBron James next summer, and signing LeBron’s close friend Dwyane Wade probably would have helped them get a little closer to accomplishing that goal.
Wade opted into the second year of his two-year deal with the Chicago Bulls, which was somewhat surprising after the team traded Jimmy Butler. Had Wade decided one season in Chicago was enough, Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN said on “The Jump” that the Lakers would have been first in line to chat with him.
“He’s going to get his money, he’s going to get that 20-plus million, but the Lakers had interest if Chicago was willing to potentially trade him or, if Dwyane had gotten a buyout in Chicago, the Lakers absolutely had interest in signing him,” Wojnarowski said, as transcribed by Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation. “But once that space got filled up by (Kentavious) Caldwell-Pope that wasn’t on the board.”
The Lakers are trying to preserve salary cap space for next years loaded free agent pool, so signing Wade would have made sense. They would not have had to commit to him long-term, and the prospect of playing alongside Wade again may have appealed to LeBron.
Like James, Wade will also be a free agent next year. Given what we have heard about LeBron’s current feelings toward the Cleveland Cavaliers, it wouldn’t be out of the question for the two to reunite. Would L.A. be a potential landing spot for both? Crazier things have happened in the modern NBA.
