LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted Dwyane Wade to join them this summer, but they didn’t have the scratch to make it happen.
Wade was looking for a deal in the $50 million range as a free agent—he ended up settling for $47 million from the Bulls—which was out of the Cavs’ reach.
New story: Everybody wanted Wade in Cleveland, they just didn't have that extra $20 million it would have cost https://t.co/YzYP4MFONP
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 12, 2016
The future Hall of Famer recently told SLAM that as the owner of three NBA championships, he had no need to chase a ring anywhere (certainly not in Chicago.)
Per ESPN:
“We couldn’t afford him,” James said. “It’s that simple.”
Wade signed a two-year deal with Chicago in the offseason worth about $47 million. The Cavs, well above the cap with a star-studded core of James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson all signed to long-term deals, could have offered Wade only the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth about $3.5 million.
Cleveland ended up using the MLE on retaining Richard Jefferson. […] “Who wouldn’t be interested in a Hall of Famer?” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue echoed, referring to Wade’s likely spot in the Hall. “That don’t even make sense. Yeah, we wanted him.”
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