Ranking the current Cavaliers who could start at small forward
Option No. 1: Dean Wade
Over the past two seasons, when Dean Wade has been on the court the Cleveland Cavaliers have performed better than when he is off the court. More so, when Wade played alongside the core four stars, the Cavaliers outscored opponents by 20.7 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass.
That shouldn’t be the final word; it’s a relatively small sample size, and hot shooting by the Cavs or cold shooting by opponents during those minutes could skew the sample. But going back to 2021-22, Dean Wade with the other four starters (Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen) was +19.3 points per 100 possessions in a much larger sample size. The proof is in the pudding: the Cavaliers are at their best with Dean Wade in the starting lineup.
Why haven’t they figured that out yet? In part it’s because Wade was injured for much of last season, and when he returned he seemed to have lost the structural integrity of his 3-point shot. That fed into a lack of confidence in shooting it, and whether it was lack of minutes or simply a lack of an offseason to rework his shot, Wade never got his groove back.
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An offseason to get his mechanics back should set Wade up for success next season. If he can shoot at league average or better from 3-point range, his defensive chops and rebounding should close the loop on whether he is the best option to start at small forward. If the Cavs don’t add a starter this offseason, Wade should be the favorite to claim the job next season.