Not long after Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com reported that Dean Wade is one of three players who could see more playing time in the absence of Max Strus, who is dealing with an ankle injury, a report surfaced claiming that Wade ran with the starting five in practice on Monday.
“Sources tell cleveland.com that Wade, the versatile forward who [Kenny] Atkinson has raved about throughout training camp and who received the start at small forward in the preseason finale, was with the starters at practice on Saturday and Monday — the first two prep days for the Toronto showdown,” Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com wrote.
“While Wade’s wine-colored practice jersey is a hint about his impending role, Atkinson said others are also receiving consideration as the fill-in starter — a status that could fluctuate.”
But Atkinson recently implied that Caris LeVert is also in consideration to start for the Cavaliers until Strus is back on the court.
“We like Caris too,” Atkinson said. “It’s not necessarily just those two. It could be somebody else. We have to figure that out. That’s what we’re in the process of doing right now.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Wade ran with the starters in practice after how he performed in Cleveland’s final preseason contest against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 18. In a game the Cavaliers lost by only two points in overtime, Wade contributed 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 from 3-point range as well as five rebounds and three assists.
He is a 3-point shooter first and foremost, so he could theoretically plug the hole left by Strus’ absence in that regard. He has shot 35-plus percent from deep in each of his last four seasons in the NBA, and a season ago, an overwhelming amount of shots he took from the floor came from behind the arc.
During the 2023-24 regular season, Wade took 4.3 shots from the field per game, 3.7 of which came from 3-point range. He also shot 39.1 percent from deep.
It’s worth mentioning that Wade has extensive experience as a starter, which could prove to serve him well should he be chosen as Cleveland’s temporary starter. The 27-year-old has started 92 games in the NBA, including 32 last season alone.
Regardless of who the Cavaliers decide to replace Strus with in the starting lineup, Cleveland doesn’t have much time left to make a decision. The first game of the Cavaliers’ 82-game slate will take place on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.
Opening night for the NBA is on Tuesday, but only four teams — the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves — are playing that night.
