Wade calls out McDermott for having impressive camp

Bulls forward Doug McDermott, who gave up his jersey number (3) to Dwyane Wade this season, has impressed Wade with his skills on the court. Associated Press/file

Dwyane Wade should do something nice for Doug McDermott, right?

When Wade agreed to join the Bulls this summer, McDermott quickly sent notice he'd give up Wade's familiar No. 3 jersey. McDermott will wear No. 11 this season.

Wade provided some payback Wednesday when asked if any teammates have surprised him in training camp.

"I don't really want to use the word surprise, because we're all in the NBA, but one guy I've been impressed with so far in camp is Doug McDermott," Wade said. "I think (not only) the way he shoots the ball and how fast he shoots it, but the way he puts the ball on the floor as well and shows his athletic ability.

"Playing against him and now seeing his confidence in his game, the kid's tough. He's having a good camp and hopefully it will continue.

"We need him make shots, and we also need him to do what he does -- put the ball on the floor, be smart."

Butler on the attack:

While the early focus in camp has been on newcomers Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo, both players declared over the summer that the Bulls are Jimmy Butler's team.

Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg talked about the best parts of Butler's progress.

"His attack right now; he's doing a good job of attacking closeouts, attacking angles," Hoiberg said. "His strength is just off the charts right now. He's just going through guys. We charted last night that he would have shot 10 free throws, and that was in a six-minute scrimmage.

"Leadership, he's been really good. He took to heart how much of an influence he'd have on this team and he's done a really good job of that."

Wade eyes long ball:

Dwyane Wade averaged less than one attempt per game from 3-point range during the regular season last year, connecting on a career-low 15.9 percent.

So Wade himself was surprised by one part of coach Fred Hoiberg's game plan.

"One thing I'm trying to get used to is that 3-point shot is going to be open a little bit more for me, and coach is telling me to shoot it," said Wade, who upped his 3-point percentage to .522 during last year's playoffs. "That's a little new era for me. Normally I had to be the guy that would put it on the floor."

Wade said Hoiberg has been telling him not to hesitate to shoot the long ball when he's open.

"This is the first time someone is telling me to shoot the 3-ball," Wade said. "So it's cool. Getting them up a little bit in practice, getting comfortable with it."

From Robbins, via Miami:

Dwyane Wade, who grew up in southwest suburban Robbins, talked about why he wants to be introduced as, "From Chicago."

"I thought about the whole Marquette University thing," he said. "It'd be cool to have two guys coming out from Marquette University (along with Jimmy Butler), but I think coming back to the city, to say I'm from Chicago will be good for me.

"I did it so many different ways in Miami, I've heard it every way. I did it from Robbins one year, I did it from Marquette, I did it from Chicago. I know what they sound like."