Dwyane Wade
Mar 13, 2017; Charlotte, NC, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) signs autographs for fans after the game against the Charlotte Hornetsat Spectrum Center. The Bulls won 115-109. USA TODAY Sports/Jeremy Brevard

Dwyane Wade's homecoming to Chicago could be short-lived. The three-time NBA champion could potentially leave the Bulls for the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets or Cleveland Cavaliers this coming offseason, per a report. The three-time NBA champion owns a US$23.8 million (AU$31.3 million) Player Option for the 2017-18 season and could potentially bolt from Chicago during this year's free agency period.

Wade shocked the basketball world last offseason by departing from the Miami Heat, the only team he had played for since entering the league in 2003, over an alleged salary dispute. If he were to hit free agency again, it's hard to predict Wade's next team. Last summer, teams such as the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets aggressive pursued Wade in free agency. In fact, Wade nearly agreed to a two-year, US$50 million (AU$65 million) contract from the Nuggets before signing a two-year, US$47.5 million (AU$62 million) deal with the Bulls to return home to the Windy City.

According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, Wade could go a number of ways, from taking a pay cut to play for a championship contender such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers or San Antonio Spurs, to signing with a mid-tier team such that can offer him a lucrative contract, during the free agency period this July.

Dwyane Wade free agency: Could the ageing star chase a ring?

"It’s hard to say what options would be available to Wade should he opt out. The Bucks and Nuggets were both interested in him last year, and would be willing to talk again this summer if he were a free agent. He could chase another trophy, perhaps as a bargain signee for a team like San Antonio or the Clippers. Heck, it’s a long shot, but he could join the pile on a bare bones contract in Golden State or team again with LeBron James in Cleveland," Deveney wrote in his report published last week.

Wade, 35, was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season after fracturing his elbow during the 98-91 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Mar. 15. The now injury-prone Wade, who shot a career-low43.4 percent this season, would struggle to convince a general manager to pay him in excess of US$20 million (AU$26 million) per season during the free agency period.

Steve Aschburner of NBA.com reckons it’s too early to rule out a Wade reutrn to South Beach, mirroring LeBron James' return to Cleveland in 2014. "Which way will Wade go? It’s too soon to know. He said as much in the wake of his right elbow’s diagnosis, responding “too much cart before the horse” when asked if he had played his final game, period, with the Bulls.

It’s hard to imagine Wade, with the freedom to go, re-upping for more of the same – or worse. It’s equally difficult to think he could use his skills and charisma at this stage the way he did in Miami seven years ago to lure some free-agent friends to Chicago to help," Aschburner reported. Dwyane Wade, a future hall-of-famer, is averaging 18.6 points, 3.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds in hi 14th NBA season.

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