MIAMI _ Try telling Jaden Knox that Dwyane Wade's lone season in Chicago was a waste. Or Darrion Baxter, Jasmine Voss or any of the other youths his foundation honored last season.
Each of these kids took the United Center hardwood last season and stood as the lights went out and a spotlight found them, Wade's voice narrating their accomplishments in booming fashion throughout the arena. The powerful moments were part of the Wade's World Foundation's "Spotlight On ... " initiative, a campaign designed to shine light on a local teenager making a positive impact in the community.
"There's been so much negativity talked about in Chicago. It's very publicized worldwide about the killings," Wade said in an interview last season. "But there are so many positive things going on in our city as well. And our kids need to hear that more, to see that more."
The Bulls will face the Heat Thursday night, seeing Wade for the first time since the Cavaliers traded him to his adopted home in February. Wade took a buyout from the Bulls last September and signed with the Cavaliers to play with his running buddy LeBron James.
The Bulls paid Wade $38.5 million for one season of borderline relevance on the court. Off it, the looks on the youths' faces as they were honored were priceless.
"You can go touch places a little bit more. You hear about the need in the community a little bit more," Wade said last season of the impact signing with the Bulls had on his local charitable efforts. "It's always been special to me being from Chicago. You always want to take care of the people who take care of you."
From a basketball perspective, Wade's arrival felt like an odd fit, a last gasp at minor relevance. It also saddled coach Fred Hoiberg's preferred pace-and-space offensive system with another isolation player not accomplished in 3-point shooting.
And it played out to form with the Bulls finishing 41-41, the very definition of mediocrity.
Still, the Bulls did place a scare in the top-seeded Celtics, taking a 2-0 first-round playoff series lead before Rajon Rondo fractured his thumb. And Wade averaged 18.3 points in 29.9 minutes over 60 games during the regular season.
In fact, the morning of the Jimmy Butler draft-day trade to the Timberwolves, it didn't look like Tom Thibodeau would include Zach LaVine. If that doesn't happen, management would've run it back this season with the Three Alphas, the colorful nickname Rondo coined for him and Wade signing to play alongside Butler.
Wade always maintained a strong footprint in his native Chicago through his Wade's World Foundation. There's a reason why on Tuesday he was named a finalist for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award, presented annually by the Professional Basketball Writers' Association to a player, coach or athletic trainer who demonstrates outstanding service and dedication to the community.
But Wade's season at home upped the ante, allowing Wade to participate in events ranging from the "Spotlight On ... " initiative to surprising families who had lost parents to the city's gun violence at his "3 Under the Tree" holiday event.
On that day, Wade spoke to kids alongside his aunt, Diann Aldridge. She's the mother of Nykea, the 32-year-old cousin of Wade who was killed in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood in August 2016 when she was caught innocently in crossfire while pushing her infant child in a stroller. The incident drew national headlines.
Nevertheless, Aldridge offered words stressing peace and the love of family on that December day.
The work is ongoing. Just last week, the Wade's World Foundation provided $200,000 to help fund Chicago-area youth to travel to Washington for Saturday's "March Of Our Lives" event that emanated from the horrific Parkland, Fla., school shooting.
"I said when I got here, it was always a dream for me to play here," Wade said in an interview the night his buyout became official. "And getting that opportunity was special."
Just ask one of the "Spotlight On ... " honorees.
