3 Cavs players that are now expendable after their recent moves

No. 2: Dean Wade

Dean Wade gets a bad rap, regardless of me previously not being a fan of his. He adds a solid skill set to the Cavaliers. Before last season started, Wade agreed to a $18.5 million deal over three years, (guaranteed for $16.5 million), which was a quality signing it appeared.

Wade had a great start to the season. From the start of the season to the end of November, Wade averaged 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per night. Sure, those numbers do not jump off the page, but his abilities don’t really show on the stat sheet. As a player who mainly played power forward before last season, Wade showed solid lateral quickness to be able to defend small forwards.

Also, Wade’s shooting splits were pretty solid. 45.8% from the field, 41.8% from distance, but only 69.2% from the free throw line. Besides the shooting from the charity stripe, those numbers are solid. The $18.5 million deal looked to be a good deal.

However, sadly, on Dec. 2, Wade hurt his left shoulder, and was out for more than a month. He returned on Jan. 21 against the Milwaukee Bucks. After his injury, Wade didn’t look like his usual self. He averaged 3.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.7 assists post-injury. Wade’s shooting splits also fell off, shooting 37.6 percent from the field, 31.0 percent from distance, and 60.0 percent from the free throw line.

As of now, Georges Niang looks like he will be the backup power forward over Dean Wade, and unless Wade’s shot gets fixed, then he might not play a lot, if not at all. Niang was a much more consistent player, and unlike Wade, was a great free throw shooter throughout the season, hitting 86.7 percent of his shots from the free throw line.

Wade being a piece involved in a potential trade, similar to Rubio, wouldn’t seem so far-fetched. At minimum, Wade’s rotational spot looks to be in jeopardy.