The Cleveland Cavaliers enter this season as favorites in the Eastern Conference, but as the league's only team above the second tax apron they have very little flexibility to improve the roster during the season. That could lead to Dean Wade being on the chopping block and off the roster by the Trade Deadline.
Everyone on the Cavaliers seems to love Dean Wade, but he is a polarizing player among fans. On the one hand, he is the quintessential role player: he defends, he shoots the basketball, he doesn't mind a small role and is a good locker room presence.
On the other hand, he seems to constantly be battling injuries, to the point that he has been hampered or not available at all for multuple postseason runs. His overall shooting numbers are fine, but he seems to go through cold stretches where he can't toss a rock in the ocean from a boat.
What kept Wade around for so long was the lack of any viable replacement on the roster. The league as a whole has a shortage of forwards who can defend multiple positions and shoot 3-pointers and the Cavaliers essentially didn't have one for the last half-decade; they needed Wade, inconsistencies and injuries and all.
The Cavaliers have upgraded the forward position
Things have changed in the last year. The Cavaliers traded for longtime Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter, who is a slightly worse defender than Wade but a high-volume 3-point shooter. They drafted Jaylon Tyson, who has a very different skillset than Wade as a playmaking on-ball point forward, but he can defend similar players and his 3-point shot seems solid for him to scale into that kind of role.
Perhaps most surprisingly, undrafted forward Nae'Qwon Tomlin showed real flashes last year as a rookie in the G League and then dominated Las Vegas Summer League. His skillset is the closest to Wade's as a versatile defender, plus rebounder and capable shooter. There is a reason Tomlin was undrafted, and he still has work to do to become a rotation-level player, but his trajectory is sky-high at the moment.
Where does that leave Dean Wade? He is in the last season of the bargain extension that he signed three years ago and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Because the Cavaliers are above the second tax apron, they cannot add players together to match incoming salary in a trade.
If they want to go after a significant contract, therefore, they will need to move a significant contract. Even so, the odds of pulling off that kind of a deal are slim. Much more likely is the prospect of making a small deal on the margins, perhaps to add a veteran backup point guard if the combination of Lonzo Ball and Jaylon Tyson isn't working out, or to get an athletic defender for certain matchups.
For any deal involving a player making $6.6 million or less, Wade is the most likely trade candidate. He is somewhat expendable now that Hunter and Tyson are on the roster, his injury issues make it hard to rely on him in the every-night rotation, and his expiring contract make him an easy addition for another team even if they don't value Wade the player.
The Cavaliers have largely set their roster for next season, and any significant changes are likely to wait until next summer. If they do pull off an in-season trade, Dean Wade is the most likely player to be on his way out this year.