The Worst Chicago Bulls Free Agent Of 2010s Was an Interesting Choice

The Chicago Bulls have made plenty of mistakes during the 2010s decade. Yet one thing can be said of them. Most were centered around the NBA draft and trade markets. When it came to free agency, there weren’t any truly glaring blunders that they’re still paying for today. That doesn’t mean however they’re free of blunders.

Out of all the transactions they made from 2010 to 2019, which could be called the worst? Determining such an answer comes down to how much it cost to get said player vs. how much the team got in return for their investment. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report felt he had the answer for the Bulls and it was an interesting one. None other than Chicago-born Dwyane Wade himself.

Here’s his reasoning.

“Well past his prime at the age of 34 and put into an awkward backcourt fit alongside Rajon Rondo, the Wade experiment in Chicago lasted only a year.

Right before the start of the 2017-18 season, Wade agreed to give back nearly $8 million of his $23.8 million salary if the Bulls would agree to a buyout. That paved the way for him to join LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Bulls wound up paying Wade just under $39 million to play 60 total games. He averaged 18.3 points with the Bulls, which was his lowest amount since his rookie year at the time.”

Wade wasn’t good but was he the Chicago Bulls worst?

It’s fair to say the Bulls didn’t get what they hoped for from Wade when they signed him. Then again it’s not like they didn’t know what they were getting. It was clear the guy wasn’t the superstar he’d been in Miami for so many years. What they were hoping for was a functional offensive presence who brought priceless leadership to a roster that desperately needed it.

To be fair, he did provide it. Wade’s numbers weren’t too far off from what he’d posted the year prior in an All-Star season with Miami. One could argue his backcourt teammate Rondo was a worse signing. The Bulls added him for $28 million. His numbers were substantially lower than his prior year in Sacramento where he averaged a double double at 11 points and 11 assists per game. He managed just 7.8 points and 6.7 assists in Chicago. Couple that with his usual reputation for being a locker room problem and the fact he got hurt two games into the playoffs?

The money lost was less but the investment can definitely be called worse.

Yet it should be neither of those guys. The winner (or loser) is Jabari Parker. The Bulls handed him a two-year deal worth $40 million. He averaged just 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds, played 39 games and did nothing for their bottom line. They traded him in the middle of his first season with the team for Otto Porter Jr. who himself has been a terrible acquisition.

That one should take the cake.