When listening to NBA front offices executives speak about their approach to team-building, a lot of the same themes emerge. Those decision-makers will talk about payroll flexibility, asset management, chemistry, versatility and a host of other broad goals they are seeking to accomplish with every move they make. All these things (fans hope) fit into a greater vision of what these executives want their team to be now and moving forward. This recent Dwyane Wade free agency saga gave us another fascinating case study about the forces that drive roster construction in the NBA.

The appeal of Wade is obvious. He’s a champion, a draw (let’s face it, Wade would sell tickets and that matters) and still a relatively productive player who showed he still had the juice to make big contributions during the playoff grind. But most of the things that Wade currently brings to a franchise are immeasurable intangibles, the narrative-filling aspects that can easily overshadow an awkward, or downright detrimental, impact on on-court performance. And at 34 years old, the benefits Wade brings to a team (or their impressionable young players) are going to be fleeting.

Wade’s combination of age and accomplishments also bring into another tricky dynamic: the decline of a former superstar. How players like Wade, who have perhaps spent a decade as the central focus of their respective teams, respond when Father Time robs them of their ability is always a fascinating endeavor. We saw it to one damaging extreme with Kobe Bryant. We also saw Tim Duncan slowly allow himself to be phased out of the Spurs' hierarchy. Wade can probably play a key role on a contending team, but what that role is and how it compares to what he’s willing to accept will pretty much decide how his post-Miami career goes.  

That is perhaps why the interest of three teams prominently involved in the Wade chase -- Denver, Milwaukee and the team that ultimately secured his services, Chicago -- brazenly stand out. Their interest in acquiring the future Hall of Famer seems to clash with the current direction of their respective franchises. But in order to avoid passing a superficial judgement, it’s best to provide context by examining where each team exists on the competitive cycle of the NBA and what their interest in Wade says about their approach.

The Mile High Hypothetical

Ever since the George Karl-era ended, the Nuggets have been in a state of limbo. The Brian Shaw-era was short and tumultuous and saw the sad decline of perhaps the team’s most productive player, Ty Lawson. With an eclectic mix of veterans and promising youth, the team went 33-49 in their first season under Mike Malone. Denver’s record certainly doesn’t suggest an impending powerhouse, but even a quick glance at their roster can produce some serious optimism.

Other than reserve guard Jameer Nelson, not a single player currently on the team’s roster is over 30 (Wilson Chandler is the closest at 29). In fact, the Nuggets can basically be divided into two groups, solid rotation contributors who are in or entering their primes, a list that includes Chandler, Darrell Arthur (28), Danilo Gallinari (27), Kenneth Faried (26) and Will Barton (25), and talented prospects. It’s that latter group, which includes the promising Nikola Jokic (21), third-year guard Gary Harris (21), who had an admirable bounce-back campaign after a horrific rookie season, last year’s lottery pick, Emmanuel Mudiay (20) and this year’s lottery pick, Jamal Murray (19), that really is at the heart of why their interest in Wade was rather curious.

In order for young players to develop they need NBA minutes and opportunities to refine their games. Wade’s presence means less minutes and less touches for Harris, Mudiay, Murray and Barton. And before you scoff at Barton’s name being included in that group, ask yourself this, between he and Wade, which one has the ability to be a viable rotation player when Denver’s young, foundational pieces are ready to compete deep into the playoffs two or maybe three years from now? (Hint: it’s not Wade).

It’s that whole timeline factor that makes the Nuggets’ push for Wade somewhat questionable. While it would have been easy for the team’s management to trumpet how Wade is there to “teach their young players how to win”, it’s probably not a necessary thing. This Denver team is going to be better and possibly compete for a playoff spot as early as this season. It’s the natural progression of the combination of talent and age on their roster.

Wade’s presence may have (heavy emphasis on may) produced a few more wins, but he wasn’t taking Denver from 33 wins to a championship contender. With that being the case, what’s the point of blocking the development of all these young guards in order to accommodate Wade, especially if it’s under the assumption he will be utilized as a focal point in the team’s offense? It seems as though the Nuggets best course of action is to let their young team grow organically. And with Wade signing elsewhere, that is the route they have no choice but to take for the time being.

A Return to the Good Land

Wayne’s World references aside, Milwaukee may be a relevant sports destination in the near future thanks to the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo is on the verge of stardom and he is flanked by scoring machines Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker. The best news for Bucks fans is that Middleton, at 24, is a senior citizen in that trio. Overall, Milwaukee is a young, versatile and athletic outfit with an emerging star who just spent their offseason making savvy additions focused on some much needed perimeter shooting.

All those things just mentioned above are why it was so curious to see them continuously linked to Wade, despite his curb appeal and ties to Marquette University. In a basketball sense, Wade addresses none of the needs Milwaukee had and exacerbates some of their troubling flaws. As a non-shooter, Wade would have cluttered spacing for a team that played multiple lineups last season with as many as four non-shooters on the floor -- a death knell to any offense. Though Wade has always mitigated his lack of perimeter effectiveness by being an outstanding cutter, there is no amount of cutting that overcome playing heavy minutes with lineups that allow opposing defenses to camp out near the lane unpunished.

On top of that, Milwaukee, more so than any other team on this list, would be hurt the most by a Kobe-Like approach from Wade in his final seasons. Antetokounmpo showed incredible potential as a primary ballhandler near the end of last year and the Bucks would be wise to tailor their system to his unique skill set. Wade’s presence in the lineup would mean more touches for the aging scorer whose teams have consistently played at a glacial pace in part to accommodate Wade’s approach. Slowing their tempo and taking the ball out of Antetokounmpo’s hands would be major drawbacks to what the team needs to do for success both now and in the future. It’s unlikely that Wade will be productive enough in a scheme tailored more toward him to offset what the Bucks could do with an approach that fits the rest of their roster.  

Antetokounmpo also wouldn’t be the only one whose growth would have been impacted by Wade’s presence. Middleton and Parker are both, well, straight bucket-getters. Wade has also posted solid assist totals in his career but has certainly never been confused with being a top-flight playmaker. It’s pretty much impossible to see chemistry and production between a Middleton, Parker and Wade when they flank Antetokounmpo and moving one of the Bucks two young core pieces to the bench sets off another chain reaction of lineup choices -- like shooting in the starting five versus fit in bench units.

Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make. And Milwaukee could easily breathe a sigh of relief in a few years that Wade chose to relocate further south down I-94.

Coming Home

This offseason has been a string of contradictions from the Chicago front office. In an effort to alleviate the Derrick Rose-Jimmy Butler leadership tug-of-war, the Bulls shipped Rose to New York. Then following a stated goal of getting younger and finding pieces more suited towards Fred Hoiberg’s style of play, Chicago let Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol walk in free agency. There was also that weird stretch where the team was reportedly entertaining offers from Minnesota for Butler himself.

In the end Butler stayed put. At least for now. So in order to build around him, the Bulls violated both their age and personality mandates with the acquisitions of not just Wade, but Rajon Rondo -- two accomplished vets that will hold some serious weight in the locker room. It’s a stunning display of cognitive dissonance for a franchise that seems to lack even a semblance of direction (Right now, the image most closely associated with the Bulls would be a compass arrow spinning around in circles).

As Chris Reina touched on his breakdown of the deal, Wade had every right to want Chicago. But as Chris also pointed, there are serious concerns with how Wade will fit in on this roster from a skill-set standpoint alone. In order not to beat a dead horse (or a live one, for that matter), I won’t rehash what has already been broken down, but it seems like Hoiberg will have to find some magical solutions to provide decent spacing for his lineups next year.

Chicago may have won the battle for Wade, but may have lost in the war when it comes to building a cohesive contender.

An Isolated Incident?

From a financial standpoint, it’s obvious every team would love to put Wade on their roster and sit back as the season ticket dollars roll in. But another thing that helps with filling seats is actually winning basketball games. In order to do subscribe to the latter instead of the former, however, NBA front offices need to constantly be putting things into a big picture perspective -- something that’s hard to do given the pressure of maintaining employment (just ask Sam Hinkie how sticking to a long-term vision went for him).

That said, it’s still fascinating to see how teams seem to be drawn to things that have great superficial appeal, but little substance in terms of efficacy. For Chicago alone, you can find all kinds of reasons having Wade makes sense, until you get to his actual fit on the court during games. In a simplistic sense, the teams chasing Wade this summer seemed to be beholden to his mystique rather than what actually he is: a 34-year-old fading superstar with a throwback game, whose continued on-court effectiveness and acceptance of a scaled-back role is an complete unknown.

And that’s the most interesting part of this free agency saga: how the why behind wanting Wade meshes with his actual impact. We’ll all be able to judge Wade’s impact on the Bulls, but to really learn anything from this, we can’t forget to assess how the Bucks and Nuggets fare in his absence -- and how that reflects on their reasons for chasing after him this summer. It’s essentially an exercise in metacognition. One that NBA front offices hopefully partake in from time to time to ensure better decisions as they build their rosters in the future.