Dwyane Wade speaks to the Chicago media

“I have no rift with Pat Riley”, said Wade. This may signify that the Heat committed to a rebuilding phase for the team – which Wade probably did not want to be a part of at the age of 34.

“This wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Jimmy Butler”, Wade said. He’s a young Bull on this team.

“He didn’t call or email or text or nothing like that to try to sway me or try to get me back”, Wade said. Wade took the stage Friday with Bulls general manager Gar Forman, and the second question he was asked was about Butler, the team’s 26-year-old star.

“As important and maybe more so, the presence and intangibles Dwyane will bring to this organization and this team”, Forman said. Now, how well they mesh on the floor and in the locker room will go a long way toward determining how successful the Bulls are.

The Dwayne Wade era in Chicago is off and running.

Like fans of the league, Anthony was also shocked by Wade’s decision. There were times these last 13 years that I envisioned myself being here. I told that to the Arison family in our meeting.

It’s good to see Wade is having fun in his return home to the Chicagoland area.

The Miami Heat had other plans.

Anthony also spoke about how hard the free agency process is.

“Prime of my career”.

Whose team are the Bulls? It’s a place my heart really pulled me towards. “Jimmy is going to grow and become a better player because of what Rondo brings and what I bring”.

But make no mistake. he’s not headed to Chicago expecting to take over as the go-to guy. It also has to take a load off second-year coach Fred Hoiberg, who endured the bumps and bruises of making the transition from the college ranks to life in the National Basketball Association as the Bulls failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in seven years last season.

“It’s a notion out there that somehow, some way, that I used the Bulls for some sort of leverage”, Wade recalled Friday of 2010.