Dwyane Wade has informed his hometown Chicago Bulls that he will be signing with them once the official signing period kicks off on July 7, according to both Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Wade was drafted by the Miami Heat with the 5th pick in the legendary 2003 NBA Draft, and at best, Miami fans hoped he would be the successor to the Eddie Jones/Alonzo Mourning era in Miami, an era that produced some pretty darn good Heat teams, but no championships. He did better than serve as a viable successor.

In three seasons, he brought a championship to South Beach with Shaquille O’Neal‘s help, and lured LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami in 2010, where the dangerous trio brought two more championships to South Beach, back-to-back title wins at that. However, an underlying problem began to rear it’s ugly head a few years ago, and it’s led to Wade’s departure from Miami. After balking at a 2-year, $40 million offer from Miami, Wade’s team began publicizing that the former Marquette University star was looking for a 2-year deal worth $50 million. Denver and Milwaukee made strong plays, but Wade ultimately chose the Bulls, the team he grew up rooting for during the Michael Jordan era.

The move also makes considerable basketball sense, considering the rise of Jimmy Butler as one of the game’s best two-way players, and the team’s acquisition of Rajon Rondo from the Sacramento Kings. Though they lost Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol in the offseason, Chicago has to be happy with the July they’ve had thus far. Though Wade has agreed to join the Bulls, an official contract hasn’t been agreed to in principle as of the time of this writing. Why, you ask? The Bulls have to frantically clear the cap space to give Wade the money he’s requested. If Miami has any miracles left in the tank, they have a small window to do so, but by every indication, Dwyane Wade is now a Chicago Bull.

July 7, 2016