ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bulls guard Dwyane Wade admits he is concerned that the Bulls are just a .500 team at this point and there won't be much more growth in the final three months of the season.
"I do," Wade said after shootaround Tuesday ahead of the team's 100-92 win against the Orlando Magic. "I'm 35. I do get concerned. Of course."
The Bulls moved to 23-23 with Tuesday's win but overall have struggled to find consistency. Wade, who is in his 14th season, was asked at what point during the year does it come down to a team being what they are.
"I don't know if it's that simple, if it's that black and white," Wade said. "I think you see certain teams throughout a year can get better and you see certain teams -- you will see it. You can tell that it's just who they are. I've been on both. I've been on teams that it's just who you are and you deal with it for the whole year. And some teams you get better as the years go on."
"Right now we are who we are."
Wade, who signed a two-year deal with the Bulls last summer for $47 million, which included a player option, admitted that the Bulls' mediocrity would impact his decision to pick up the option or not. He told ESPN.com last week that Jimmy Butler's future would also play a major part in his decision.
"I wouldn't lie to you and say no," Wade said. "Of course. I can't play this game forever. I just turned 35 and I have a number in my head how long I want to play. At the end of the day you want to be in a situation where it's a competitor situation, whatever the case may be. It's tough in this league as well because a lot of that also depends on how much money you're willing to make. It depends on what city you're willing to be in. So it's a lot of variables to that, but no question about it, what happens throughout this year, as I go into my summer, I'll definitely take a look at it. I take my career seriously and where I am and where I want to be. And I will do the same thing this summer."
Wade said earlier in the season that he wasn't "ring chasing" at this point in his career. On Tuesday, he clarified those remarks, admitting that while there wasn't a particular number he had in mind as far as a discounted number he would go down to in free agency, the number that the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to offer last summer was too low.
"The reason I said that, [the media] asked me a question about going to the Cavs this summer and I said, "Well, I think they had like $2.4 million [to offer]," Wade said. "It ain't that bad. It ain't that bad for me now. I do got three rings ... that's what I meant. In the sense, when you're a veteran guy, you're older, some guys have taken those sacrifices -- David West last year, he gave all his money back to go to San Antonio. It's something that he wanted to do, he wanted to put himself in position to try to win a ring. I have three, I've been in five Finals, so I don't need to do that. But it is a time where you can compete too. It's just a fine line between what you really want. That's not what I want."
Like many of his teammates, Wade hasn't been able to pinpoint why the Bulls remain so inconsistent. There's not much else he feels he can say to teammates or management that would change things at this point.
"I can't do nothing about it," he said. "I'm in a position as a player to be my best self. Some nights, like the other night, it's just going to be hard and you just got to give it. Some nights it's not going to be as hard but I think with this team it's something I've been saying all year is you got to learn how hard it is to win. Some nights we take the approach where we'll just do anything to try to get a win and some nights we'll just go through the motions. It's not that easy when you're not overly talented. When you can go out there and you've got three guys that can get 20-plus so it's hard to win in this league. I think we're experiencing that as a team, especially as a young team, I hope these young players are learning that if we want to win from now or the rest of their career it's just going to be hard unless you're on one of those dynamic teams where you just show up and everybody's so good that you guys win and you don't even break a sweat too much." Wade says he is still trying to focus on this season and to help the Bulls finish out strong.
"I just wanted to come here this season, do the best I can, obviously from a basketball standpoint," Wade said. "And also as a leader standpoint. See what kind of change to the culture that you can be a part of. Try to see the growth of the organization and where it could be going, etc. You just never know how nothing is going to shake out. Obviously I'm not happy with being 22-23 (entering Tuesday), whatever the case may be. Who would be? But there are things around here that I am happy with of individuals. Obviously I'm happy with Jimmy's growth and our relationship. I'm happy with the organization, how they've approached things, but I'm not happy with our record. But no one on this team is. But that [decision] is months away. I haven't even concerned myself with that. I'll figure it out later."