Dean Wade looks to be reliable Cavs’ defensive piece from here

One of the bright spots for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2020-21 season that might have flown under the radar a bit was Dean Wade. Wade was on a two-way deal in his first season with the Cavaliers, and played the vast majority of his time with Cleveland’s G League affiliate, the now-Cleveland and then-Canton Charge.

With the Cavaliers, he didn’t play much then, which wasn’t a surprise. In his second year with the Cavaliers in that 2020-21 campaign, he did do better than I would’ve originally thought defensively against opposing forwards, and in this now-past season, Wade did solid work against opposing wings and some forwards.

Wade has had 6.0 and 5.3 points per outing in the past two seasons for Cleveland, and is not going to be a volume shot creator when he’s in there, but he is a capable catch-and-shoot player, and he’s a quality defender.

Wade has filled in well generally when the opportunities have come with the Cavaliers on the defensive end, and next season, when I believe he could very well be back, he should be reliable in that aspect. There’s others involved; still, that seems fair to say regarding Wade.

Wade looks to be a reliable defensive piece from here for the Cavs, and his off-ball play is solid on both ends.

Wade is not a guy that’s going to put up gaudy numbers when it comes to traditional counting stats, as we demonstrated. The dude is not going to be a high-usage player, and for what the Cavaliers are expecting out of him, he’s not going to be a focal point offensively.

He did again show this past season, though, that he’s multi-positional on the defensive end, and while it’s not necessarily going to lead to Evan Mobley-type defense, Wade uses angles usually well and forces assignments to their share of tough shots. That sort of thing is why I thought Wade did a decent job when he was starting in games for Cleveland in 2021-22, and can be viable in spot starts looking onward.

This past season, Wade was more so playing at the 3 when he was in there, and filled in some in times when Lauri Markkanen was out, and when Markkanen was back playing the 4 when Jarrett Allen was sidelined.

Granted, I acknowledge that Wade’s minutes are going to be somewhat spiradic, if the Cavaliers are mostly healthy at the 3/4 spots. And similarly in the case with Lamar Stevens, with both of those guys’ deals non-guaranteed for next season, it’s not a certainty, particularly with a potential wing draft selection, that both Stevens and Wade are back in 2022-23.

I frankly do believe they still could be, however, and regardless of if Cleveland were to involve Caris LeVert and/or others as part of a package in a trade for a wing, which could perhaps involve Cedi Osman, I’d think. Stevens is a defensive player I’m a fan of, too, and did show encouraging signs offensively as last season progressed.

In Wade’s case, he’s not a Markkanen-level catch-and-shoot player, but he can hit looks when they’re there, he runs the floor well and is an adept finisher on cuts and some putbacks. Him hitting 35.9 percent from three in 2021-22 and 36.6 percent in 2020-21 was acceptable in his role, in my opinion. He’s a decent ball-mover throughout possessions, also, and has flashed some pick-and-pop ability.

So, generally, while there’s going to be variance, Wade is a guy that is typically reliable for stretches defensively for Cleveland when he’s needed, and despite the inconsistent minutes, the team being 5.1 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor defensively last season was noteworthy. Of course, some of that was because of a lower minutes-share of 19.2 per contest.

Either way, for a player on an uber-team-friendly deal, the 25-year-old Wade has proven to be a capable contributor and a defender that can guard multiple positions at 6-foot-9. It’s not a guarantee I wouldn’t think that he’s back, but the argument is there for him.

I thought Wade’s partial meniscus tear in the closing stretch of last season was something that was another blow to Cleveland’s defense, too, which was downplayed, somewhat. He’s fortunately since fully recovered and has been back to on-floor activities for a good bit, on the plus side, and I believe will be more than fine.

We’ll have to see what plays out, though, and the 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday could definitely factor into things roster number-wise.