DWYANE Wade danced onto the stage holding TV host Kelly Ripa’s hand yesterday morning, settled into his chair and smiled broadly as the studio audience roared with cheers and applause.
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In an already-crazy free agency, Wade made things even more interesting when he chose to leave the Miami Heat and return home to Chicago to sign with the Bulls.
“It’s still surreal and I’m still numb”, Wade said. The former Celtics man will now form an unlikely backcourt partnership with Wade, in a heavily shaken-up Bulls side. That is something that the Bulls desperately needed after both Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were acquired by the New York Knicks this off-season. The Nuggets reportedly pitched as much as US$52 million for two years while Bulls’ Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler urged Wade to play for his hometown club. I’ve been in Miami for 13 years, 13 incredible years … “We’re going to need to get you a coat”. “I lost probably 5 or 10 pounds just not being able to eat”.
“Watching the Bulls growing up inspired me at an early age to pursue my dream of becoming a basketball player”, Wade wrote in the letter.
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According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the Bulls have waived the 23-year-old point guard. But what was clear was that whatever the Bulls said, and whenever and however they said it, it was enough to get him out of Miami, having previously missed out twice.
