Dean Wade is a longtime fan favorite of the Cleveland Cavaliers and an underrated part of their success over the last half-decade. The rise of Jaylon Tyson may be putting an end to his time in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers nailed a couple of draft picks that have proven to be the backbone of their current team. Evan Mobley is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Darius Garland is a two-time All-Star, and...well, that's about where the list ends.
Isaac Okoro was a disappointment at No. 5. Ochai Agbaji was immediately traded away but also hasn't been anything special with the 14th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Their other three picks in 2022 -- Khalifa Diop, Isaiah Mobley and Luke Travers -- have a grand total of 39 NBA games to their names. Their lone pick in 2023, Emoni Bates, was a swing and a miss who is already out of the NBA.
That is why it matters so much that the Cavaliers nailed their first-round pick in 2024. Armed with the 20th pick, Cleveland was going to be without their pick or forced to swap it for the next half-decade. The core was relatively young, but there were not any young reinforcements ready to step up. It put a lot of pressure on the pick.
Jaylon Tyson has stepped up to the challenge. He popped a few times as a rookie, showing a diverse skillset combining size, skill, playmaking and touch. On a team that won 64 games, however, he didn't carve out a large role.
That has changed this season. With Max Strus yet to play this season and Darius Garland limited to just two games, Tyson has been asked not only to step into the rotation but to play big minutes. The second-year pro has started seven of the team's 10 games and averaged 25.3 minutes per game, a massive uptick from the 9.6 he averaged last season.
Tyson has answered the call in those minutes, shooting 51.3 percent from the field and a scorching 47.8 percent from deep, averaging 11.3 points per game. Defensively he has been everything the Cavaliers needed, plucking steals, rotating into the paint and causing disruption on the perimeter.
Cleveland has long sought a 3-and-D forward, and they appear to have found one in Tyson. He is shooting the leather right off of the basketball and playing great defense. When you add in his secondary playmaking skills and touch inside the arc, you get a player who will prove vital to this core for years to come.
It also makes Dean Wade expendable.
Wade may be on his way out
The Cavaliers have very limited options to make a move during the season, but Dean Wade is one path to matching salary. He is on an expiring deal at just $6.6 million; that's not a lot of matching salary, but it's also not much for another team to take on if there is a player making less the Cavaliers want to go after -- a backup point guard, perhaps.
Wade is shooting just 28.6 percent from deep this season and is averaging less than half of Tyson's points per game despite playing 21.2 minutes per game himself. His defense is fine, but not quite where it used to be, and he has been a terrible offensive player to start the season. He still has value as a great locker room culture setter and with his ability to defend 3-5, but the Cavs need reliable floor spacers around their bigs.
Cleveland couldn't afford to move on from Wade in the past because they didn't have a replacement. They have one now, and then some, with Jaylon Tyson - who is younger, less injury-prone and has a more varied skillset. If the Cavaliers have an opportunity to trade Wade to upgrade the roster, they may now feel comfortable taking it.