Wade looking forward to 'new era' of 3-point shooting with Bulls

Dwyane Wade has never been much of a long-range gunner, but his aversion to the 3-point shot reached new depths last season, when he hit just seven of 44 attempts from beyond the arc.

In the playoffs, however, Wade proved that he can still knock down the outside shot when called upon, obliterating his regular-season performance by hitting 12 threes (at a 52.2-percent clip) in just 14 games.

Now, following an offseason that saw him change teams for the first time in his 13-year career, Wade is looking to make the 3-ball a bigger part of his game with his hometown Chicago Bulls.

"One thing I'm getting used to is that the 3-point shot is going to be more open for me," Wade told reporters Wednesday. "So it's kind of like a new era for me."

With the Miami Heat a season ago, in an offense light on playmakers, Wade didn't play off the ball as much as he likely will in Chicago. This Bulls team has a ball-dominant, pass-happy point guard in Rajon Rondo - who Wade called "the best point guard I've ever played with" - and a high-usage scoring wing in Jimmy Butler, who commands a ton of attention from opposing defenses.

Playing alongside those two could allow Wade more daylight on the weak side.

"It's great we have a movement offense where it's equal opportunity," he said.

In fact, if there's one thing the Bulls offense lacks, it's 3-point shooting, which is another reason Wade may (by necessity) find himself firing away from deep. If spacing gets cramped, someone is going to have to make paint-clogging defenses pay.

Wade channeling his playoff form would certainly help.