Wade applauds Nuggets for free-agency push: 'I was sold on them'
A return to The Windy City to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a member of the Chicago Bulls was ultimately too enticing for Dwyane Wade to pass up in free agency last summer, although the darkhorse Denver Nuggets certainly kept things interesting right down to the wire.
The Mile High franchise had a two-year, $50-million contract on the table for the three-time champion, which is more than what Wade accepted by joining the Bulls on a $47.5-million deal.
"Those guys, I was sold on them (Denver), those individuals, great individuals," Wade said, according to the Denver Post's Chris Dempsey. "They made it a lot tougher than people think just from the standpoint of when you get into free agency, it's all about how comfortable someone can make you feel. It's about the picture they paint for you about the what's the possibility of how the team can look with you inside of that team."
Wade even went as far as publicly thanking the Nuggets on Twitter for the impression they left on him during their meetings, giving the organization his seal of approval in the process - something that's undoubtedly worth its weight in gold.
You see, Denver doesn't have an overly impressive track record with securing meetings with big-name free agents, let alone locking them down. Landing one with someone of Wade's caliber goes to show that the rest of the league is taking notice of its improvement.
"I think hopefully next summer you'll see some of that," Denver head coach Michael Malone said about the ripple effect of Wade's meetings and how that can only benefit the team in the future. "I think our fans were able to realize that 'OK, the Nuggets are serious about winning. And they are willing to go out there and try and sign a marquee player.'"
Related - Wade: Free agency about ‘player relationships more than anything’
The young core of Emmanuel Mudiay, Nikola Jokic, rookie Jamal Murray, and Jusuf Nurkic has played its way to just a 6-10 record to begin the 2016-17 regular season. Devoid of a "star" player, the hope is that one of the aforementioned names will rise to the occasion and be that next-level talent that can help in the recruitment process.
"Maybe you have a relationship with a guy, maybe you don't, but it starts with that process when guys are able to reach out to you," Wade added. "If a star player on a team doesn't reach out to me, then I don't think he's excited about me coming there."