Dwyane Wade’s season has come to an end. Likely, his career as a Chicago Bull has also come to an end. During Chicago’s loss on Wednesday night, Dwyane Wade initially was diagnosed with a right elbow hyperextension. However, after the MRI results, the easily recoverable hyperextension was then diagnosed as a sprain and fractured elbow. With that, Dwyane Wade will not be playing another minute this season.
The injury is just another blow for Chicago Bulls. Dwyane Wade was supposed to join forces with the young and talented Jimmy Butler to create a competitive team in the Eastern Conference. Throw in the experienced Rajon Rondo at point and the Chicago front office surely thought they had a team that could at least compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, as every game passed, this dream is not becoming reality.
Dwyane Wade left the Miami Heat this past offseason after 13 years with the franchise. He left after Miami never could offer the huge payday that Wade wanted. Dwyane was after the money, and Chicago was willing to offer the All-Star veteran exactly that. The Bulls gave Wade a two-year, $47 million contract last offseason. Wade has a player option he can pick up with a player option at a guaranteed $24 million. However, the losing season hasn’t been the only drama surrounding the Chicago Bulls this year. Rondo spoke out against Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler earlier this season about how they were not good leaders for the young Bulls team.
Below is the comment Rajon Rondo made on his Twitter account confronting Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler.
“When we lost, they wouldn’t blame us,” Rondo wrote, according to the New York Times . “They took responsibility and got in the gym. They showed the young guys what it meant to work. Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. They showed us the seriousness of the game.”
“My vets didn’t have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn’t change the plan because it didn’t work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches and he held everyone accountable,” claimed former Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who is now with the Los Angeles Clippers.
In this quote, Rondo was referring to his teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, who were rivals with the Lebron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers before Lebron left for South Beach.
Despite the rough year for the Chicago Bull, Jimmy Butler has still proven to be one of the most talented players in the league. The Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler combo just didn’t prove to be too lethal.
Currently, the Bulls are just outside the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Ironically, the Miami Heat are slightly ahead of the Bulls, so perhaps the grass is not always greener.
Although this year may be marked as an embarrassing year for Chicago and perhaps even Dwyane Wade, his numbers weren’t that bad, especially for a 14th-year veteran. Wade averaged 18.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game through the end of this season. Wade will always have an interesting story in the NBA. He won an early NBA title alongside Shaq. These were the days he became known as “The Flash.”
Later, he joined forces with Lebron James and Chris Bosh. They quickly became the most hated team in the league. Dwyane Wade maintained his loyalty to his Miami Heat team through all these years. However, last year is when Pat Riley couldn’t fork over the cash Dwyane wanted to stay. He left for the supposedly young and talented Bulls, but the year sure doesn’t look too promising now.
[Featured Image by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images]