Dwyane Wade, a three-time NBA champion with Miami, is set to join his hometown Chicago Bulls following 13 seasons with the Heat, the US media reported Wednesday night.
The 34-year-old free agent and 12-time all star reportedly baulked at a two-year, $40mn deal from the only franchise he has known.
His new deal will reportedly pay him $47.5mn over two years, with a player option in year two.
“This was not an easy decision, but I feel I have made the right choice,” Wade said on Wednesday.
“Watching the Bulls growing up inspired me at an early age to pursue my dream of becoming a basketball player,” Wade said.
“My most treasured memories were watching my dad play basketball on the courts of Fermi Elementary School and developing my game at the Blue Island Recreation Center. I have never forgotten where I came from, and I am thankful to have an opportunity to play for the team that first fuelled my love of the game.”
Heat owner Micky Arison wished Wade good luck with his new team on Wednesday night.
“Thank you @Dwyane Wade for a great 13 yrs! You’ve had a tremendous impact on our community and our organisation. We wish you all the best,” Arison said in a tweet. The Heat no doubt figured Wade was expendable as injuries — especially knee problems — have cut down his playing time over the last few seasons.
This past season he played a career low 30.5 minutes a game and averaged 19.0 points per game, which equalled his lowest total since his rookie season in 2003-04. He was also reportedly upset with Miami making a priority of trying to re-sign Hassan Whiteside and attempting to woo Kevin Durant from Oklahoma City.
The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday night that the Bulls are preparing to offload the contracts of Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy in order to clear enough salary cap space to sign Wade.
Wade has made over $300mn in a career where he teamed with LeBron James and Chris Bosh to championships in 2012 and 2013 after winning
one with Shaquille O’Neal in 2006.
Before reports surfaced about Wade going to Chicago, he had been linked to the Denver Nuggets, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wade, who played on the 2008 US Olympic gold medal team of NBA stars, has never been the Heat’s top-paid player. The Denver Nuggets reportedly pitched as much as $52mn for two years while Bulls guard Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler had been pushing for Wade to come play for his hometown club.
Reaction from players around the league was one of surprise.
“Wow!!! Never would have imagine that...,” tweeted DeMarre Carroll of the Toronto Raptors. Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers said: “CONGRATS MY BROTHER!!!!”
Meanwhile, Ray Allen, two weeks shy of his 41st birthday, was looking at signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors.

Lakers acquire veteran guard Jose Calderon
The Los Angeles Lakers acquired veteran Jose Calderon from the Chicago Bulls, adding a point guard near the end of his career with three-point touch and solid passing skills. No other current players were involved in the deal, though the Lakers received two future second-round draft picks from the Bulls, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Lakers will trade Chicago the rights to an undetermined player, probably someone they drafted long ago who had little or no impact in the NBA. Calderon, who turns 35 in September, is in the last year of a contract paying him $7.7mn next season. He averaged 7.6 points and 4.2 assists in 72 games last season with New York.
It was not immediately clear how he fit into the Lakers’ backcourt plans, though he probably would be a backup. The Lakers used the second overall pick last season to draft D’Angelo Russell and recently gave restricted free agent Jordan Clarkson a four-year, $50 million contract. They also have veteran guard Lou Williams for two more years and $14mn. Calderon was acquired by Chicago as part of the Derrick Rose deal two weeks ago. He gives the Lakers some outside touch, sitting at career 41.2 percent accuracy behind the arc, and is an 88 percent free-throw shooter.
The Lakers have under $10 million left to spend on their payroll for next season after acquiring free agents Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng and re-signing Clarkson and Tarik Black.
The acquisition probably ends the Lakers’ one-year run with backup point guard Marcelo Huertas, who averaged 4.5 points and 3.4 assists last season. Huertas had some crowd-pleasing plays as a sharp passer but couldn’t consistently score and had trouble on defense. Calderon’s best season was 2008-09 with Toronto, when he averaged 12.8 points and 8.9 assists while shooting 40.6 percent from three-point range.