Dwyane Wade signed a two-year, $47 million contract with the Chicago Bulls this summer that includes a player option for the 2017-2018 season after spending thirteen years with the Miami Heat.

That of course is well documented, and during Wade’s free agency period, many people were speculating whether or not Wade would take less money to go play for Cleveland Cavaliers an reunite with his friend LeBron James.

In a recent interview with slamonline.com, Wade said he thought about going to Cleveland, but decided that he wouldn’t have fit there:

“For me, it’s as simple as, I got a deal in Miami for $41 million, I got a deal in Chicago for $47 million. 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. 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.”

If Wade had taken a significant pay cut to go to Cleveland, it would’ve given the Cavaliers a loaded starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Wade, James, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson. Right now, Cleveland remains at war with their 2015-2016 starting shooting guard J.R. Smith over a new contract.

The 34-year-old Wade, who will turn 35 in January, also said in the interview that he started to envision himself playing in Chicago after he was recruited by Bulls star Jimmy Butler and the team signed free agent point guard Rajon Rondo:

“It just came down to me being like, D, What do you want to do right now at this point in your career?” Wade says. “Once I talked to Jimmy and I seen, OK, Jimmy’s on board with me coming, I started looking at the roster: OK! You know what, this team is better than I thought it was! I look for basketball players and leaders, certain qualities. Once Rondo signed, I saw the direction that they’re going in. I started envisioning myself playing there, with those guys.”

Wade averaged 19 points, 4.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game in 74 regular season games in 2015-2016. His Bulls will next take on the Indiana Pacers in their second preseason game of the year.

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