Dwyane Wade's life is probably busier than yours is right now. The Heat star was in Orlando on June 11 for Game 4 of the NBA Finals, he was in town this past week to run his fifth annual basketball camp at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island and he headed to Washington on Friday to meet President Barack Obama.

It's definitely good to be D-Wade right about now. I caught up with him on Wednesday morning and we discussed a number of topics from his upcoming trip to the White House to what he thinks the Bulls -- his hometown team -- need the most. If you read between the lines, it sure sounds like he's going to look long and hard at the possibility of signing with the Bulls next summer&

Let's start off with the question that is on every Chicagoan's mind this week. Are you a Cubs or White Sox fan?

Dwyane Wade: (Laughs) You know, I get asked that question every day. I don't pick sides, man & I'm not in Chicago [during the season] so I don't have to pick sides, I'm on the outside looking in.

Do you have any favorite players on either of the teams?

DW: Well, I mean, of course, Big Z is one of the guys I've gotten to know through my foundation. He came out to support me at All-Star Weekend. That's the one [player] I have gotten to know.

Were you surprised by the Sammy Sosa steroid news that came out on Tuesday?

DW: Umm, not really. (Laughs) I'm really not surprised about nothing that comes out nowadays, in this world we live in.

Tell me a little bit more about the camp that you're hosting this week and the activities that your foundation has set up.

DW: This is my fifth year doing this camp here at Eisenhower & We try to get a total of 400-500 kids to come & and give kids that don't have an opportunity, that don't have the funds, to come out and learn something about basketball, but also learn something about life as well. & This is one of three camps we do this summer and through my foundation, Wade's World Foundation. This is the one that's really near and dear to our heart because it touches our community.

I just read that you're actually headed to the White House on Friday. The President is from Chicago, you're from Chicago, how cool of a feeling is that?

DW: Well, it's gonna be cool. It's gonna be actually my first opportunity to meet the President, and of course, we're both from Chicago, and I did a lot of things for the campaign, so I'm excited to go in there. First of all, that they even asked me to come, that I'm one of the people that they even considered being in the White House. So, that's a testament all to itself right there.

I read that you wanted to play basketball with him, but you're not going to talk any trash.

DW: (Laughs) I don't know if we're going to get to do that, but hopefully one day we will, and hopefully, us being from Chicago we'll get an opportunity to do it. [People] asked me, you know, I've played against a lot of great players, but they asked me who I wanted to play against and I [thought], why not play against one of the most powerful men in the world, one of the most respected men in the world in our President, that loves the sport that I've been loving since I've grown up [playing] basketball. That's just great.

You said you could crush him in a game of one-on-one, how many points would you spot him?

DW: Ummm. It all depends & I mean I'd probably spot him 10 and we'd probably go to 12. (Laughs) Nah, I'm just playin'. I don't know if he would even want me to spot him, he might be that competitive where he'd say no. & Of course I would beat him, but more than anything [it's] the competition of it. Just like if we got in a debate, he would kill me as well, but I would try to hold my own, just like he would on the court.

When you come back to Chicago what is the one place -- restaurant, club, bar, park, whatever -- that you've got to go to?

DW: Whew. That's tough, man. I don't & I don't know if I have one place that I have to go. You know what? A lot of people don't understand this, when I lived in Chicago I grew up in the south suburbs. I never really got the opportunity to experience Chicago. I'm just starting to experience Chicago last summer, and now this summer, so I'm still learning, and I'm still figuring out these new restaurants and these new areas to hang out at, things like that. It's still new to me as well.

Speaking of last summer, it's been almost a year since you won a gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing, do you find yourself looking back at that experience even more these days and saying, "Man, that was cool?"

DW: Yeah, man. Actually, I do. Just the whole & just something as simple as the relationships that we have out of that. You know, I went to Game 4 in Orlando and of course, Dwight [Howard] is a good friend of mine, and then Kobe [Bryant] is a good friend, and you know, after the game I go and I chill with Kobe for a while and just looking at stuff like that, it's showed how it was a brotherhood. How us guys put whatever people said about us in the NBA, amongst each other, we put that away and now we're friends. Besides winning, it's more so [about] the relationships we built forever.

You played with LeBron James in the Olympics, you played with Shaq in Miami, I'm sure you've heard the rumors about Shaq going to Cleveland. If that were to happen, would they be the favorites next year in your mind?

DW: Well, I mean, they were the favorites this year, so adding Shaq is not gonna do nothing but make them even better because I see how he played last year in Phoenix, especially being motivated, if he gets an opportunity to play with LeBron and seeing an opportunity to win a fifth championship. So yeah, they will be [the favorites]. It just won't be a good thing for the rest of the Eastern Conference. But, you know, that's something that they're looking to do, so they'll do what's best for them.

I know you've been asked about playing for the Bulls a million times, so I won't even bother with it, but from what you've seen what do you think they're missing the most right now?

DW: I think their team got a lot better this year, with the trades that they made and bringing John Salmons in. That really helped their team out. I think what they're missing is & even though Ben Gordon is great and Derrick Rose is great, what I think they're missing is that guy that they can go to, that really & that guy that they can go to, like a Kobe Bryant, like the Lakers have in him, like the championship teams have. I think they have great talent around. I think they just don't have that "go-to" person yet. & But they're a good team, they're probably way ahead of my team talent-wise (chuckles) that I have in Miami. So, we don't want them to get too much too soon.

So you're saying they're missing a guy like Dwyane Wade is what you're saying.

DW: No, I said Kobe Bryant. (Laughs)

If you're the Bulls' GM, do you re-sign Ben Gordon?

DW: Well, I mean, I think he's a great & he's one of the best talents. He's great at doing what he do. He puts the ball in the basket just as good as anybody, and I think you have to re-sign him. [I] don't know what's gonna come after that, but I think you have to. I mean, there's not that many people that can put the ball in the basket the way he has. I know everybody's thinking about 2010, but everyone is gonna get a player in 2010. So, I think you gotta look and do what's best for your team now and try to wait and see what happens in 2010.

With Rose specifically, is that a guy you'd look forward to playing with in the 2012 Olympics?

DW: Well, I haven't even said I'm gonna play in the Olympics. That's a conversation that can come up later. But yes, that is a guy that if I do wind up playing [with], he will be one of the guys that would be well thought of on the team with one of the young guys that can carry it. He's just a great talent. He really had an unbelievable year this year. He carried [himself] well. He's only gonna get better. And so it's scary to see how good this kid is gonna get already, so him being from Chicago, I'm proud of him, but him being in the Eastern Conference, it's not good for us, neither.

I know you said you haven't explored as much of the city as you would have liked yet, but in your mind, what's the best part about Chicago?

DW: Just the city. I think when people come to Chicago, if you go down to the city of Chicago and you learn about the history, you get out, you get to go eat at these great restaurants, you walk the streets, the people of Chicago [are] just friendly people. It's the big city with a small town attitude. That's why I say, we're one of the best cities around.

All right, we'll wrap it up on this one: You're at this camp and you've got all these kids around you and I'm sure at some point when you were little you went to something like this as well. Do you ever find yourself looking around and going, "Oh my gosh, kids are coming up to me, I'm Dwyane Wade." Do you ever have to pinch yourself?

DW: You know, I went to one camp, I had the privilege to go to one camp that my uncle took me and my brothers to. & Patrick Ewing was there, Craig Hodges, players like that. It changed my life, just to be around [someone] that was playing the sport that I wanted to play and was very successful. I'll always remember that. I will never forget it and I know these kids won't ever forget these opportunities. We got some kids that have been in our camp for five years in a row, and to watch them grow, to see them when they get taller, where they stronger, where they get better, all that is amazing to see. We just want to continue to give kids these experiences that are gonna last a lifetime. And it might change their world, not saying just in basketball, just their perspective in life.

Do you think the next D-Wade is in there somewhere?

DW: I believe so. And you know, the biggest thing is, these kids believe so. You should hear what these kids say to me. They all think they can beat me, they all think they're better than me, so that's great. That's great they have the confidence, they just gotta put the work towards it, and have the mental approach towards it. Anything is possible, but I don't want to tell all the kids that's in my basketball camp that all of 'em [are] gonna make it, and I don't want to tell 'em that they're not gonna make it, it's just a fine line between making sure we touch on basketball and making sure we touch on other things as well.

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