Dwyane Wade glad Jimmy Butler -Timberwolves saga over

Heat guard Dwyane Wade said Friday that he and Jimmy Butler, his former Bulls teammate, talked during the melodrama that eventually ended with Butler’s trade from Minnesota to Philadelphia. Butler, Wade said, wanted everything with the Timberwolves resolved faster than it was after he asked for a trade just before training camp started.

“It just didn’t [get resolved], so it dragged on,” Wade said. “A lot of stuff started coming out from there. It’s never good when you let something like that drag on.”

Wade said the trade was a “win-win” because Timberwolves players he likes and respects are now enjoying the game while Butler is now “in a place where he’s a winner. You put him in a place and a culture where he can do that, and he’ll really help you.”

Most of all, Wade is relieved it’s over.

“Eventually it worked out for both sides, I think,” he said.

That probably can’t be said about Wade’s one rocky year with his hometown Bulls, which ended with his contract being bought out. Yet coach Fred Hoiberg said he feels “very fortunate” to have coached Wade, who’s retiring after the season and has one game left in Chicago on Jan. 19.

RELATED

• Short-handed Bulls can’t rally past Dwyane Wade, Heat

• Bulls need to get serious about this rebuild, stop the winning

“Our guys are going to look back on their careers and realize how fortunate they were to play with a first-ballot Hall of Famer like that — a guy that’s arguably one of the top shooting guards of all time,” Hoiberg said.

Rose in Minnesota

On Saturday, the Bulls visit the Timberwolves and the rejuvenated Derrick Rose, who has scored at least 20 points eight times this season, including a 50-point game on Halloween night against the Jazz.

“It’s good to see [Rose] out there playing with that swagger again,” Hoiberg said.

Unabashedly behind Bears

Wade, an outspoken Bears fan who attended their game against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in October, is relishing their return to contention.

“We had to endure a lot, but to see this team come together, kind of unexpectedly, the way they have, to be able to go on this five-game win streak the way they have, it’s been impressive just to watch this whole year,” Wade said. “As a fan, you just enjoy it.”

• Bulls forward Chandler Hutchison (back) missed his second straight game.