Among Cavs’ Stevens, Wade and Osman, who has best case for minutes?

It’s close, but I’d probably lean Wade more if it comes down to it

As we alluded to, both Stevens and Wade can hold their own in matchups, by and large, against opposing wings and still a number of forwards for a few stretches if given the opportunities.

They both can help the team’s defensive rebounding positioning, and in terms of team defense, Stevens and Wade had 1.5 percent steal rates last season, which was decent. They appear to be capable rotators off-ball, too, and Stevens has shown he can make plays on occasion at the rim in that realm.

As for the offensive end, I do believe Stevens displayed some encouraging signs as a driver last season, and he can make some plays as a pull-up player in the mid-range/in the deeper paint. With more opportunities down the closing stretch of the season, and more so when Wade was out with injury, Stevens I thought was a bright spot for Cleveland with the energy he brought.

Nonetheless, what is still evident with Stevens is that he has a ways to go to be considered respectable as a catch-and-shoot guy, and while I could see him cut into Isaac Okoro’s minutes, Lamar still does need to improve his deep ball. There were positive signs there for Stevens last year, but he still hit only 27.7 percent from downtown, and the volume was not notable.

So, to me, even with some streakiness in that area, Dean is far more capable it seems on catch-and-shoot plays from three, and despite minutes inconsistencies, he shot 35.9 percent from three, which was fine, given the circumstances. He can get hot in spot starts as well. The shooting threat of Wade could still make him more sensible to play with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, for what it’s worth, which helps his case.

And though there were off-ball strides from Stevens last season, Wade is still a highly capable finisher inside, and Wade’s off-ball feel is more developed still than Stevens, seemingly. With that in mind, combined with the defensive competence, he might be more capable for stretches if the lineup decisions came down to him and Stevens, in this sense.

So, ultimately, regarding feasibly more fringe-type forwards, in times it seemingly will come down to it, provided these three guys are back in this case, I’d could foresee Wade having the best rotational case among the group of trio, Stevens and Osman. I get that we could seemingly see two of three out there for stretches, but this debate could be one that could come to the forefront regularly in games still.