Cleveland could be moving another key defensive player
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a second-apron team and are currently staring down a $141 million tax bill according to Spotrac. That number will only grow as Cleveland will eventually fill the last two open spots on its roster.
There will be numerous cap casualties in the coming years. Presumably, a member of their core four and/or De’Andre Hunter could be moved just for luxury tax reasons.
Again, this is a reminder, the second apron limitations are pretty benign if you have a good team like the Cavs do. Aggregating contracts in trades (something they’ve done once in the last two years) and using the midlevel exception (they didn’t use this last season despite not being in the tax) aren’t prohibitive to keeping a good team together. It’s the growing tax bill that’s the issue.
One of the casualties next season could be defensive-first forward Dean Wade who will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season.
Chris Fedor of cleveland.com recently reported that there is still “chatter” about moving Wade because “the current belief is Wade likely wouldn’t return” once his contract ends after this upcoming season. Fedor stated that numerous contenders have expressed interest and that the Dallas Mavericks have been “fans [of Wade’s] for a few years.”
This isn’t too surprising. There were rumors that the Cavs were looking to move Wade earlier this summer before the Isaac Okoro and Lonzo Ball trade.
Wade still remains useful for the Cavs despite his offensive limitations due to his unwillingness to take open threes. Cleveland has been considerably better with him on the court compared to when he’s off every season since 2021-22. Last season, they were 1.8 points better per 100 possessions with Wade on the floor.
Still, there are questions about how useful someone can be in the playoffs when they’re as reluctant to shoot as Wade is. He posted just a 10% offense usage last season (2nd percentile) which makes it difficult to respect him as a viable offensive threat.
Players with Wade’s defensive versatility are hard to come by, and he plays a position that the Cavs are quite thin at. There would be value in letting him play out the season with the team, not re-signing him after this upcoming season, and seeing if Nae’Qwan Tomlin can grow into his role.
We’ll see how this all plays out. I’m assuming this will be a consistent rumor until he’s traded or his contract runs out.
Wade averaged 5.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season on .413/.360/.533 shooting splits in 59 games.