While recent days may have added a layer of optimism to the Cleveland Cavaliers' summer, for weeks the fan base was experiencing gut punch after gut punch. Before the bitter taste of rejection doled out by LeBron James, it was the departure of fan favorite Dean Wade that hurt the most.
New reporting revelas the reason that Wade left Cleveland to sign a new contract with the Philadlephia 76ers. While the Cavs certainly cared about the price tag for this season, it was the length of contract, not the dollar amount, that they ultimately couldn't offer to him.
Such a reason makes sense -- until it is compared with the three-year, fully-guaranteed $97 million contract given to James Harden. Suddenly Koby Altman and the Cavaliers front office look like either hypocrites or fools, and the loss of Wade hurts all the more.
Dean Wade left for a better deal
The contract that Dean Wade signed with the Philadelphia 76ers seems very reasonable given his versatility and defensive impact: four years, $38.7 million, with only $1.65 million guaranteed on the fourth season.
Wade is one of the league's most underrated defensive players. He can lock down forwards on the perimeter, he can bang with burly bigs on the interior, and he has the wingspan and lateral agility to swallow up opposing point guards. He was the Cavaliers' best defender on Jalen Duren and Jalen Brunson in consecutive rounds in last year's playoffs.
There are warts to his value, certainly. He has struggled with injuries for most of his seven-year career, although last year he was finally healthy and made a massive impact. Wade is an accurate 3-point shooter, but he does not take a high volume. Ask him to create a shot, and it's likely a turnover or a contested jumper.
As the ultimate defensive swiss army knife, however, Wade is second-to-none. He will be the perfect fit on a 76ers team loaded with on-ball stars and in need of low-usage defensive impact players. He is the most irreplaceable player in Philly net year.
He may prove to be that for the Cavaliers as well. While Peyton Watson was a valuable addition, he is best deployed on wings and guards. Wade's ability to defend larger forwards will absolutely be missed.
Did the Cavaliers balk because of the length of his contract? That was reported by Spencer Davies on the Third Apron podcast, and is presumably accurate reporting. Yet it becomes somewhat unbelievable given the contract given to James Harden.
James Harden's contract makes the Wade decision unthinkable
The Cavaliers just resolved the unrestricted free agency of Harden, agreeing to a three-year, $97 million contract that is fully guaranteed. It will pay Harden an estimated $34.7 million in 2028-29 when he is 39 years old.
If the Cavaliers were concerned with years, not dollars, then why in the world did they give Harden a guaranteed third season at such a lucrative amount? Harden will probably (although not definitely; Father Time ignores LeBron James but not everyone else) be better than Wade in 2028-29, but four times better? The Cavs couldn't pay the ultra-versatile Wade $9 million because they needed to give Harden $35?
The Cavaliers will regret letting Wade walk; they could have pursued other pathways to this summer that also kept such a crucial role player on board. Perhaps his injury issues will prove them right; perhaps Harden and Watson will be stars for the team this year. Perhaps by 2028-29, Harden will be plugging along and Wade will be washed up.
Or perhaps, just perhaps, Wade will be helping the 76ers to great postseason success, and Harden will be an albatross contract. And slowing down the likes of Jaylen Brown and Scottie Barnes and Jayson Tatum and Pascal Siakam will make the Cavaliers wish they still had Dean Jackson Wade.
Wade's contract was too long? How do they take themselves seriously after the contract they gave James Harden? The NBA is sometimes where ludicrous happens.
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