The Cleveland Cavaliers have been trying to upgrade their roster this offseason despite having limited cap space, and were hoping to add either Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony (or both) if they were bought out of their contracts.
Now, with reports that Wade is expected to reach a buyout agreement with the Chicago Bulls at some point this season, the Cavaliers have him circled as a possible late addition.
Wade may entertain other teams if he becomes a free agent - he has shown major interest in joining the Los Angeles Lakers - but LeBron James' people are "fairly confident" that Wade will sign with the Cavs whenever a buyout is reached, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
"As of right now, people close to James are fairly confident that, at some point this year, Dwyane Wade is going to end up on the Cavs," Vardon said on the Cleveland.com sports podcast.
The Bulls have publicly remained adamant about keeping Wade for the entire season, pointing to the need for veteran leadership with their young roster. However, Wade is owed $23.8 million this season in the final year of his contract, which may prove valuable at the trade deadline.
Cleveland utilized the buyout deadline last season, signing Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut. Williams played valuable minutes for them off the bench while Bogut suffered a season-ending injury in his first game with the team.
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Wade does have concerns about the future of the franchise with Cleveland. James plans to opt out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2017-18 season, and it's a "serious possibility" that he signs with a team other than Cleveland. However, that would not affect Wade, as he would only sign on for the rest of the season.
Wade averaged 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season.
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