Dwyane Wade is home, a man on a mission for reasons beyond basketball

During Dwyane Wade's rookie season, way back in 2003-04, he found himself matched against the chatty Baron Davis.

Davis, then with the New Orleans Hornets, kept giving Wade pointers throughout the game — when to fight over a screen, the best angle to exploit a pick-and-roll, experienced stuff.

Wade, back then a quieter type, couldn't believe it.

But a few games later, there was New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd doing the same thing.

"I grew up with guys giving me their knowledge," Wade said in an interview with the Tribune. "I remember KG (Kevin Garnett) pulling me aside and giving me his knowledge after we played Minnesota my first time. That's what I do for guys on other teams now but especially my teammates. I'm going to give them the knowledge I have, whether they want it or not. I feel it's my duty to pass it along.

"Because this game continues to be amazing."

It may always be jarring to see Wade in his hometown uniform of the Bulls, his familiar No. 3 first gracing the United Center court in a regular-season game in Thursday's opener against the Celtics. His decision to leave the Heat after 13 seasons, 12 All-Star appearances, three championships and an identity forever linked to South Florida still has lingering shock effect.

But this is a different Dwyane Wade for reasons beyond his uniform changing. The Robbins, Ill., native doesn't know how much longer he will play after signing a two-year, $47 million deal with a player option in July.

But the future Hall of Famer, who will turn 35 in January, can at least recognize the end is near, that he's on the back nine.

And that's why, after taking some time to process his stunning decision, he began to embrace the Bulls for reasons beyond basketball. He can further affect a community he kept ties to even while starring for the Heat. He can try to move an organization he cared for so deeply as a kid back to respectability.

Wade can still play a little, too, evidenced by his 19 points-per-game scoring average over 74 games and his turn-back-the-clock performance during a dominant, two-series performance in the postseason. But above all, Wade can serve as a model leader for a 14-man roster that features eight new faces.

"At 34, I know I'm not making this decision in 2010," Wade said, referencing his free-agent dalliance with the Bulls before the Heat brought LeBron James and Chris Bosh to Miami and four straight NBA Finals trips followed. "I know I'm not making it at an age where I could be up for MVP in a season, right? So I know that me coming here is bigger than even what I'm going to do on the basketball floor.

"I know that my leadership in the locker room and in practice and behind closed doors is probably going to be more important than what I do on the court. No matter if I go out and average 20 a night, I still think the tone I try to set is going to be carried even when I'm not here. That was my goal.

The best and worst scenarios for every NBA team this season The best and worst scenarios for how the upcoming season will play out for all 30 NBA teams -- the top outcome they can realistically dream of, and the fiery abyss that awaits them if the season falls off a cliff. -- The Washington Post "Even when I'm done playing, what I did here, I want it to still stand. I want it to be like, 'Hey, this is how it's done here.' I would love this organization to get back to having that opportunity to win year after year."

After all, that's the Bulls identity Wade learned as a kid. He still remembers sitting cross-legged on the floor as a 9-year-old, watching Scottie Pippen smother Magic Johnson defensively and Michael Jordan defer in the fourth quarter of Game 5 to John Paxson, who hit jumper after jumper to seal the first of six Bulls championships in 1991.

Wade remembers turning to his brothers and saying that's what he wanted to be when he grew up. And the Bulls were the team he wanted to do it with.

"All those moments in the backyard in Chicago, I always envisioned myself playing with the Bulls," Wade said, smiling at the memory. "I used to talk to myself all the time. Jordan never got the last shot. I always did."

Until late afternoon on the July 6 night he committed to signing, the Bulls didn't think Wade was coming. Management believed Wade would return to the Heat because that's always what Wade did.

But Wade was serious. And he appreciated Jimmy Butler reaching out to him during the decision-making process.

Bulls' starting five flies in face of NBA's trend toward 3-point shooting Bulls' starting five flies in face of NBA's trend toward 3-point shooting "It's crazy because he and I think so much alike — even when we're joking around or on the court," Butler said. "But I've learned so much from him just the way he goes about things, getting ready for the game. He's watching, nitpicking film. You've got to want to be perfect in everything to be really good at your craft. I'm telling you, the way he gets his body right, watching film on himself and others, it's something everyone around the league can learn from."

Those who have known Wade the longest say his ability to assess and assimilate is one of his underrated attributes.

"He's smart enough to know what situation he's in," said his stepbrother Demetris McDaniel, himself a standout player at Richards before Dwyane. "After he came off that first Finals in Dallas (in 2011) when he averaged 26 a game, he knew he was a great player. But he knew he had to make sure LeBron was comfortable. That's what he does. He's going to come in and make sure Jimmy is comfortable."

Early in his career, Wade said he preferred to lead by example. He cited Shaquille O'Neal for being instrumental in helping him find his voice, display some swagger.

Now he figures he can repay O'Neal — and the game — by doing the same for Butler, a fellow Marquette product.

"My job is to help Jimmy raise his level up to a level that he didn't even know he could go to, like Shaq did for me," Wade said. "I feel like I can. I think me talking to him can help.

"Early in my career, I was a playmaker. I was passive at times. And Shaq gave me the confidence to be aggressive. And I'm doing the same thing with Jimmy: 'It's your show, Jimmy. Don't look for me. Don't look for Rondo. You be Jimmy. You be aggressive. Doesn't mean you're going to shoot every time. But this is your moment to just play.'

"There are going to be moments where he's going to want to give me the ball. But there are going to be times when I tell him it's go time. And that means a lot."

It's go time, all right. Wade is home, a man on a mission for reasons beyond on-court performance.

"I'm looking forward to putting this organization back on the right path," he said.

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