Dwyane Wade: Free Agency Is All About Player Relationships

Dwyane Wade knows a thing or two about free agency. In the last six years, Wade has been on both sides of the fence, both as a pitch man in 2010 when he helped lure LeBron James and and Chris Bosh to Miami, and as a potential signee this past summer when he was being courted by teams before signing with Chicago.

While speaking with reporterts before last night’s game in Denver and spoke on how much the League has changed when it comes to free agency and that today’s free agency is about “player relationships more than anything.”

More from ESPN:

“The league is different today,” Wade said. “The league is all about relationships, player relationships. Obviously presidents and GMs have their job to do to put teams together, but when it comes to free agency, that’s player relationships more than anything. It’s where an individual wants to go, so you have to feel comfortable with where you’re going and who you’re going with. And it starts in that process. Maybe you have a relationship with a guy, maybe you don’t, but it starts in that process when guys are able to reach out to you and you see.”

Wade also commented that Jimmy Butler reaching out to him in the summer had a big impact on his decision to ultimately sign with the Bulls:

“If the star player on the team doesn’t reach out to me then I don’t think he’s really excited about me coming there,” Wade continued. “If Jimmy don’t reach out to me then I’m not coming to Chicago because I don’t think Jimmy wants me here. But Jimmy reaches out to me and says, ‘D, I want you to come,’ it’s a different — that’s simple right there. It’s hard to change my mindset and everything.”

Wade is averaging 18.4 points, 2.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds for the 9-6 Bulls.

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