LeBron James Confirms Cavaliers Wanted Dwyane Wade, But 'We Couldn't Afford Him'

LeBron James reveals that the Cavaliers wanted Dwyane Wade on their team, but they couldn't afford him.

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After Dwyane Wade's relationship with Heat president Pat Riley turned sour and it became increasingly clear that Wade wasn't going to re-sign with Miami, it looked like the star would end up with the Cleveland Cavaliers to play alongside LeBron James.

Speculation grew when reports surfaced that D-Wade took a private plane with James and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. The following day, the Internet noticed the Cavs were following Wade and his wife Gabrielle Union on social media. One day later, Wade signed with the Chicago Bulls

In an interview with SLAM last week, Wade explained why he decided to sign with the Bulls, instead of joining the Cavaliers. “It didn’t come down to the money. I thought about Cleveland, but I didn’t fit there. You don’t just do something because, Oh, I could win the ring there. I have three rings. I don’t need to chase the ring," D-Wade said. "This is what I wanted to do. I couldn’t fight it. If you fight it, you’re gonna always be like, You shoulda, or, What could’ve—I don’t like to live my life like that.”

However, if you were to ask LeBron, it actually did come down to the money. "We couldn't afford him," James toldESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It's that simple." Whether it had to do with finances or not, Lue admits that the Cavs would have loved having a player like Wade on the roster, adding, "Who wouldn't be interested in a Hall of Famer?" 

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