With what he’s shown with gradual growth over the course of the past two seasons, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the play of Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade.
Now, is Wade going to be one of the more commonly seen jerseys in the stands at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse? No, that’s not going to be the case; the dude isn’t Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen or Collin Sexton, who hopefully can be locked up long-term eventually; time will tell there.
With Wade, he has gotten more comfortable in real minutes when the opportunities have come for him in the past two seasons, though, and that’s been nice to see.
Wade, who was originally an undrafted free agent, two-way signing out of Kansas State following the 2019 NBA Draft, has gotten far more chances the last two seasons. In his first season with the Cavaliers, he mostly played meaningful minutes with the Cavs G League affiliate, the then-Canton (now Cleveland) Charge.
In the last two seasons, there have been regular chances with Wade, who signed to a multi-year deal after his rookie campaign, albeit with the years from there non-guaranteed. This coming season, Wade’s deal is non-guaranteed again, for context, but he could be a player the Cavaliers look to bring back next offseason when he could be unrestricted via reasonable deal, seemingly.
In the last two seasons, Wade’s traditional statline hasn’t popped off, per se, at 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds and then 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last season. Although he’s helped the Cavaliers on defense when he’s had his share of minutes typically, and has filled in respectably within the team sense in spot starts, such as last season. His catch-and-shoot play has been fine, all things considered, too.
So, heading into Wade’s fourth season with the Cavaliers, how does he take another step forward, then?
With that in mind, we’ll take a look at two goals here for Wade with the Cavs in the 2022-23 campaign.
Let’s begin with the first, pertaining to his general role.