Given the rollercoaster this season has been for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it was not too long ago that everyone in the basketball world was rushing to figure out how the franchise would save money on what looked like failed experiment. Bill Simmons offered a solution. It was terrible.
Simmons said, "They have a couple outs. They can waive [Dean] Wade and [Craig] Porter [Jr.] before January 7th. [That] saves them about $3 million. Only $19 million to go."
The podcast host then suggested a handful of trade scenarios that could help further shave money from the amount the Cavaliers are currently over the second apron with. The initial remarks from Simmons about Wade and Porter are already brutal enough without even discussing those,.
Both of those players have represented key changes to the Cavaliers rotation in Kenny Atkinson's attempt to save the sinking ship. Without Wade and Porter, Cleveland would be fully deprived of the semblance of hope they have been offered recently.
Getting rid of Craig Porter Jr. and Dean Wade was never a real solution for Cleveland
Atkinson took a shot on elevating Wade to the starting lineup amid the team's struggles. The team is 4-5 with him starting his last nine appearances. However, that does not tell the real story with the Cavaliers forward.
Wade has complimented the lineups he's been a part of very well over the last nine games. The veteran forward has averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 25.6 minutes per game. Wade has shot 45.5 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Over that span, the steady vet has been involved in four of the Cavaliers' five most played lineups. Three of them have yielded positive results.
Wade being joined by Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and Sam Merrill has yielded a net rating of 23.1. Keep that same group but swap Merrill for Evan Mobley and you still get 19.4. Go back to the original five, but change Allen for Mobley instead, and it squeaks by as a positive at 0.1.
The only lineup of those four that has not yielded encouraging numbers consists of Wade, Allen, Garland, Mitchell, and Jaylon Tyson. They have been a -10.4 when sharing the court.
Meanwhile, Porter is really showing his worth in a recent sample. Atkinson has temporarily gone away from Lonzo Ball as the backup point guard in favor of the younger Cavs guard, and the results have immediately stood out as strong.
Cleveland's bench boss may have stumbled into a permanent solution, if Atkinson were to be so bold.
Both Porter and Wade have given the Cavaliers a lift amid their struggling times. It's a good thing waiving either one of the two was never really in the cards for Cleveland.