Wade will team up with his good friend LeBron James.
Dwyane Wade has reached an agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers and will sign a one-year, $2.3 million contract with the team Wednesday, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania. Wade had agreed to a buyout with the Chicago Bulls Sunday and was officially put on waivers by the team Monday.
Wade had signed a two-year deal with the Bulls last summer, but after Chicago struggled last season and then broke up the team, it was clear that Wade’s time with the team would be limited. Some reports indicated he might start the season before reaching a buyout, but the two sides ended up finalizing one on the eve of training camp.
Several teams were linked to Wade, including the Thunder, the Spurs, or even a return to the Heat. However, the Cavaliers have always been seen as the favorites, even long before Wade and Chicago reached terms for their buyout. Wade is both a close friend and former teammate of LeBron James, and the two teaming up will once again make Cleveland the favorites in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland will sign Wade at the veteran’s minimum ($2.3 million) instead of the mid-level exception ($2.55 million), clearly preferring the cheaper option since they are deep in the luxury tax. They also have 15 players with guaranteed contracts and will likely try to trade one cheaply, according to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, who also reported that Wade was “heavily favoring” the Cavaliers earlier on Tuesday morning.
Ever since the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler to officially start their rebuilding process, this seemed like the most plausible outcome. Now it may soon be completely official.
What would Wade bring to the Cavaliers?
Wade turns 36 in January, but he’s not washed out yet. Despite a difficult season for the Bulls, Wade still showed he had some juice left, averaging 18.3 points and 3.8 assists.
There were efficiency concerns — 51 percent True Shooting Percentage and 31 percent behind the arc — but the Cavaliers need his playmaking, not his shooting. With Kyrie Irving in Boston and Isaiah Thomas probably out until January, Wade immediately fills a need for Cleveland. Now that he’s back with James, Wade can focus on all the things that made the duo special.
Would Wade start?
He should, especially in Thomas’ absence. Right now, Derrick Rose is penciled in as the team’s opening day starting point guard and that just doesn’t cut it. I’d love to see Wade start there, where he can use his playmaking skills. He has occasionally played point guard throughout his career — 13 percent of his career minutes, according to basketball-reference.com — and James is really the one running that offense, anyway.
It’s harder to say after Thomas is back, though, since J.R. Smith really fits the starting lineup well. The Cavaliers might be wise to convince Wade into playing in an uber sixth-man role. Cleveland has made it clear they don’t treat the regular season with much seriousness, though, and that leaves them plenty of time to experiment with different looks. Wade taking Smith’s spot might be a better option — as long as you put shooting around him.
Just please don’t start the season with a Rose-Wade backcourt. That’s a shooting nightmare, and it’s the exact situation you want to avoid with James, whose finest work comes when he’s surrounded with shooting on all sides.