Rumor: Dwyane Wade would start for Cavs if signed

The Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn’t start Dwyane Wade if they sign him.

As Chicago Bulls shooting guard Dwyane Wade prepares to be bought out of his contract, HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy reports that the 14-year veteran has started to consider his free agency options in the event that he hits the open market. According to Kennedy, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat are two teams to watch.

In Cleveland, Wade would be afforded the opportunity to ring-chase with his best friend and the best player in the world in LeBron James. Already considered to be the third-best shooting guard in NBA history by most fans, adding another ring to his collection would only cement his status on the Mount Rushmore of 2-guards. In Miami, Wade would be able to return to the team where he spent the first 13 years of his career and won three championships. He would be able to return home, the place where he made himself Flash, with the way he would attack the rim with reckless abandon and finish drives with sensational acrobatics.

However, despite Wade’s athletic decline, something that’s sapped his explosion and replaced it with savviness, in Kennedy’s report there’s an interesting caveat to the Cavs signing him. If he signs, he’ll likely start while J.R. Smith moves to the bench.

"If the Cavs were to land Wade, sources familiar with the situation said they would likely make him a starter and move JR Smith into a sixth man role."

Now that’s certainly always been a possibility but how feasible is it with Isaiah Thomas out for the foreseeable future and Derrick Rose, another guard known for his ability to attack the rim as much as his ability to knock down three-point shots, starting at point guard until he returns? With Rose and Wade starting in the backcourt and Tristan Thompson at center, the floor will shrink and Rose, Wade and LeBron James will be forced to attack the rim with a crowded paint.

With Rose shooting 29.8 percent from deep for his career and Wade making 28.7 percent of his, players will pack the paint and go under as many screens as possible while a big man also clogs the lane. This big will be guarding Thompson so close to the rim because Thompson is a center who has no reliable jump shot from anywhere on the court. Considering that players will sag off of James simply out of the illegitimate reputation he has as a poor three-point shooter and the legitimate reputation he has as a juggernaut when he attacks the rim with a head of steam, this is a problem.

True enough, Kevin Love, an accomplished long-distance sniper, could start at center to provide spacing by drawing a big man out of the paint while James or another forward causes the other big to gravitate towards the perimeter. But if Rose and Wade, two players lacking in lateral agility and tenacity on the defensive end, are the starting backcourt, then Love’s rim-protection will need to improve.

Rose and Wade are sure to allow a lot of perimeter penetration whether it comes from their man simply beating them in halfcourt, beating them in transition or opposing offenses swinging the ball around until they can get Wade or Rose on their heels. In fact, in one-on-one situations opposing players scored on Rose 37.2 percent of the time and scored on Wade 46.4 percent of the time. Therefore, while Love has become accomplished at beating players to their spot for charges around the rim, his ability to alter shots around the rim will become extremely important. With the amount that players will be in the paint ready to attack the rim, just being able to beat players to their spot 0.12 times per game won’t cut it if the Cavs want to put a decent defense on the floor.

Last season, opponents had a field goal percentage of 55.1 with Love as the defender. Compare that with opponents shooting 47.9 percent against Marc Gasol, one of the finest defenders in the game. For the Cavs, Love would be need to drop his defensive field goal percentage in the 50 range.

Love’s pick-and-roll defense as well, as Love will need to be vigilant and efficient with his movements to keep players in front of him long enough for Wade or Rose to recover but be close enough to his man to prevent an open look around the rim. Last season, Rose and Wade allowed pick-and-roll ball-handlers to score 37.5 percent and 40.5 percent of the time, respectively. Love allowed the roll man to score 38.2 percent of the time.

If Love can be a plus defender, then Wade starting will be just fine. However, expecting Love to be a plus defender is difficult.

As a result, the Cavs need to consider moving a different player to the bench.

Starting Smith keeps the team’s most dependable three-and-D wing on the floor who allows Rose a bit of reprieve on the defensive end with his ability to guard point guards and provides spacing and an outlet for the slashing and drive-and-kick abilities of players like James, Rose and Wade.

(Editor’s note: A player like Jae Crowder may find himself playing more minutes than Thompson as the Cavs try to improve their spacing and versatility on both ends.)

For the last two seasons, Cavs head coach has called Smith his best defender on the perimeter given his focus (which is laser-like most of the time), effort, size and quickness on that end. In addition, though Smith had a rough go of it last year, shooting just 35.1 percent from three-point range, he’s made 37.4 percent of his threes in his career.

With Smith, the shooting percentage is more impressive considering the difficulty of a lot of his long-range bombs. He’ll shoot with a hand in his face like it’s just a shooting drill and nail it with three seconds left on the shot clock. Sometimes he’ll build a brick house but for the most part, only he, Love and Kyle Korver knock down contested threes like James floats in a contested layup.

Wade may want to start in Cleveland but it should only if the Cavs are ready to move Thompson to the bench and not Smith. When Thomas returns, who is an accomplished three-point shooter but not defender, Love’s interior defense will still be a significant factor in determining the Cavs success. However, because of the space that Thomas can provide, putting Thompson back in the starting lineup in place of Smith isn’t a bad idea.

Regardless of whose place Wade takes, he’ll be a reliable albeit methodical scorer like James is from the post. A position on the court where spacing opens up opportunities for everyone to score

In addition, players like James will benefit from how players gravitate towards Wade, leaving him free for cuts and flushes at the rim. Smith (or Crowder) and Love will be reliable catch-and-shoot outlets who give space to and get space from Wade. Rose will need to make himself available for cuts, corner threes or pull-up attempts in the midrange.

It’s an offense that could work beautifully, especially when Thomas returns.

Related Story: Is Tristan Thompson overpaid?

*Unless otherwise referenced, all stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com