Day 162

Fresh Start_162: Child’s play in Chi-Town
We all like hanging out with our close friends, because well that is when the best times seem to come out and memories are made. And when you look back at those times years down the line, you loan for the days that you had with those friends. Well, in the NBA Dwyane Wade is currently looking at old photos of him and Lebron in Miami winning championships. Wade is currently in Chicago (his hometown) and is barely holding onto a playoff spot. The Bulls are currently tied for the 7th seed in the East with Charlotte (23-25) and are struggling both on and off the court. The Bulls are on a 2-game losing streak and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Not to mention, the locker room has been in an uproar over this past week.

Locker room comments have been the source of news this past week in the NBA, and in Chicago, the Bulls are acting like a 7th grade modified basketball team. Wade and Jimmy Butler had some comments about the feelings around the locker room after a bad loss to the Hawks at home. “If you don't come in [for the next game ticked] off after you lose any game, if you're not [ticked] off that you lost, man, something is wrong. … I want to play with guys that care, guys that play hard, that want to do well for this organization. That want to win games, man. Do whatever it takes, just win. Who cares who is shining?” These are some of the words that Butler said after the game with Wade adding “Everyone don't care enough. You got to care enough, man. It's got to mean that much to you to want to win. And it doesn't. … I don't know how you fix it. It just doesn't mean enough to guys around here to want to win ballgames. It [ticks] me off, but I can't be frustrated and I can't care too much for these guys.”

Honestly, I don’t mind that Wade and Butler voicing their opinion about the team, but I don’t think they should have said it publically. If Wade and Butler wanted to make this affective, they would have had a team meeting and voiced their respective opinions. Both of these guys are the “leaders” of the team while being the best two players on the team. Instead, with the comments getting out into the public, repercussions happened to the team. Wade and Butler were benched for the comments, and guard Rajon Rondo took to Instagram to voice his opinion—with Wade responding and later deleting his response to Rondo. The link posted below will show what was said in this locker room beef.
Rondo's Instagram post

These guys are getting paid to do their job which is play basketball. At the end of the day you need to win games, and having a toxic locker room is a way to just tank the entire season. If the guys inside the locker room aren’t gelling and it gets out of hand, it is up to the upper management to dismantle the team.

Which brings me to this idea… Dwyane Wade is trying to get traded to Cleveland. Wade is lonely in Chicago and with his career being closer to the end, he wants to get another ring. The decision to go to his hometown of Chicago was clearly not the right idea, and what a better way to end his career than playing next to his best friend and trying to win a title. Wade wants to renew old times with Lebron and get himself his 4th ring. There isn’t a clear trade to get Wade to Cleveland unless the Cavs unload Iman Shumpert and a draft pick. Even then, that might get Wade to play with his brother again. Wade needs that partner to win a championship, he has had an accomplish his entire career. He had Shaq for his 1st title and Bosh and James for his next two rings.

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to think that Wade’s comments were in response to the comments that James had about his team needed a playmaker after the loss to the Pelicans the night before the Bulls game. Lebron’s possible call for help, could potentially pre-empt a Wade to Cleveland to help Lebron take down the “Super-Team” in Golden State when the Finals role around this June.
Sources:(espn.com, nba.com, theringer.com, @rajonrondo on Instagram)

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