Saturday Slam: Is Milwaukee a possible destination for Dwyane Wade?

     Things between Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat aren't going so good in terms of working out a new contract. Wade wants more money over the course of three years and the Heat at the moment are not willing to fork over the booty. Such is the case with all contract negotiations, but sometimes a deal is never reached and the two sides decide to part ways.

     I am of the opinion that Dwyane Wade will likely work out something with the Heat, but in the event that he decides to go elsewhere to finish his career, I think the Milwaukee Bucks is the most likely team he ends up with. This might come off as a surprise to you since Wade is from Chicago and there has been tons of talk about Dwyane Wade playing for his hometown team. But the fact of the matter is that Chicago isn't the only NBA city outside of Miami that Dwayne Wade has a personal connection to. There is another city, namely Milwaukee, which is where Wade played three years of college basketball at Marquette University.*

     Anybody who has gone to college knows that their Alma mater has a special place in their heart. For me, my Alma mater UC Berkeley has a special place in my heart. I do a weekly blog post on here called "Bear Territory Tuesday" which is entirely dedicated to Cal basketball and it is my favorite thing to write each week.

     I can't speak for Dwayne Wade, but I would guess that he has fond memories of his time at Marquette University and that a part of him wishes he could once again play basketball in the city of Milwaukee. If he ever wanted to relive his college days and once again become a part of the Milwaukee community, joining the Bucks would be a great thing for him to do.

     In addition to having a personal tie to the city, the Milwaukee Bucks actually have some attractive pieces to put around Dwyane Wade in Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kris Middleton, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Even if Middleton leaves in free agency, Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo are enough of an attractive package to entice Dwayne Wade to come back to Milwaukee.

     The Bucks were able to make the playoffs and give the Bulls a good scare with Jabari Parker out for the season. Assuming Parker makes a full recovery, the addition of Dwayne Wade would make the Bucks a scary good team. I wouldn't say the Bucks would be favored over the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference, but they would be in the discussion to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, a place where the Milwaukee Bucks rarely go.

    Lastly, I don't know if Dwyane Wade would feel comfortable going to the Bulls on the grounds that the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls have had some bad blood over the years. Joining the Bulls would really hurt Miami Heat fans and the organization in a way that going to the Bucks wouldn't. His decision to leave alone would hurt, but seeing him play in the same city where he first became a star would make some Miami Heat fans smile, and besides, what is there to really hate about the Milwaukee Bucks? Milwaukee hasn't done anything of importance in the NBA since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar departed for Los Angeles in the 1970s. Seeing Dwyane Wade put the Milwaukee Bucks back on the map would feel almost like an act of charity on his part as opposed to an act of spite.

     In conclusion, I really believe Milwaukee is a possible destination for Dwayne Wade to go to in the event that he decides it's time to move on from Miami. He has a personal tie to the city, the team is promising, and it wouldn't really offend the Heat organization. While on the surface it seems like an odd choice, it's really quite easy to connect the dots. It'll certainly be interesting to see what Wade ends up doing.

*Wade was academically ineligible to play his freshman season at Marquette, so he only played during his sophomore and junior seasons.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news