The Philadelphia 76ers landed an excellent role player when they stole Dean Wade away from the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. They also signed a player with real flaws who has an undeniable impact on a team's offense, a realization that the 76ers will soon make. Play Wade, and your offense tightens up.
Without a doubt, uncovering Wade as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State was an absolute coup for Cleveland. Over seven seasons in Ohio, the 6'9" forward built himself into an indispensable part of the rotation and started 14 of the team's 18 playoff games this past season.
Dean Wade was awesome in Cleveland
Wade has long been a fan favorite in Cleveland because of his "lunch pail" vibe, an undrafted guy who fought his way into the league and plays hard at all times, defending and rebounding and doing all of the little things. That is a large part why the Cavs' best lineups over the years have included Wade, playing at either forward position.
It's hard to overstate how vital Wade's defensive versatility was for the Cavaliers, both last year and stretching even further back. At 6'9" and stout through the chest, Wade had the strength to defend power forwards and even play some minutes as a smallball 5. At the same time, his combination of length and lateral movement allows him to swallow up guards and wings while staying in front of them.
Wade was the Cavaliers' best option to defend Brandon Ingram, Cade Cunningham and Jalen Brunson in consecutive series in the playoffs. He did an excellent job with each of those assignments. That earned him a spot in the starting lineup. Yet it also locked in a reality for the Cavaliers.
Starting Wade meant that their defense had what it needed to go toe to toe with the other East contenders. It also meant that their offense got off to rough starts in most of their games. Wade is a fine role player on offense, cutting and shooting at a fair clip. Yet his lack of offensive versatility coupled with a low volume of 3-pointers put together a player who lowers the offensive ceiling just as he is raising the defensive floor.
Wade changes the entire offense
Play Wade, in essence, and you are hoping to win 95-90 instead of 130-125. His impact is overall a positive one, but it's not an even one. Defenses can help off of Wade, unafraid of his shooting impact and completely unfazed that he will punish them in a different way.
When you sprinkle in Wade's checkered injury history, you get a player who will have a significant impact on the ongoing success of the 76ers. When he is unavailable, they will be scrambling to link together enough defensive personnel. When he does play, they will improve defensively but also take the hit in terms of volume of 3-pointers and space in the lane to attack the rim. Given the shaky shooting of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, that could become a problem.
Wade was worth the contract that he signed, and he is a good player that the 76ers will love having on their team. Yet there is also a pathway where his weaknesses become a greater issue, and his injuries continue to sap his availability, and suddenly Philadelphia isn't able to get the impact they needed from Wade.
He is a great player. He is also a flawed player. And the 76ers will probably learn that the hard way.
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