Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade deserves credit for overcoming the odds and carving out an elongated stint playing for the team after he went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. He’s heading into his seventh season in the NBA with the Cavaliers and has been able to carve out a defined role for himself thanks in large part to his defensive impact.
But when Wade initially set a goal for himself to become a positive defender years back, some people within the Cavaliers doubted he would be able to achieve that goal. Needless to say, he was able to prove them wrong.
“Dean Wade, years ago, he decided, ‘I’ve gotta become a defender,’” Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor said. “‘They don’t need me to score. They don’t need me to shoot as much. I’ve gotta do these little things. I’ve gotta rebound, and I’ve got to do everything that I can do behind the scenes to become — what is my niche? I’ve gotta become a lockdown defender. I’ve gotta become a capable, plus defender.’
“And he did, and credit to him. But initially, a lot of people inside the organization and his teammates were like, ‘No, no, that’s not — Dean Wade, defender? No. What? Are you serious? That’s not gonna happen. He doesn’t have the skill set for that. He doesn’t have the physical traits for that.’ Turned out he did.”
Wade has gradually played a bigger role with the Cavaliers as his pro career has dragged on, and he averaged a career-high 21.2 minutes per game in the 2024-25 campaign and also logged 30 starts. The 28-year-old enjoyed perhaps his best rebounding season at the NBA level last season as well and showed off his growth in that area, as he pulled down 4.2 per game and 7.2 per 36 minutes of playing time.
The veteran, per usual, also provided Cleveland with strong defense and knocked down some 3-pointers, all things that he will look to keep doing.
While Wade’s Cavaliers career has been a success and feel-good story up to this point, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved in trade rumors earlier this offseason. A couple months ago, one NBA source labeled the odds of Wade being traded before the start of the season as a “50-50” coin flip.
All signs point to Wade playing an important complementary role for the Cavaliers once again in his seventh season in the pros as the franchise looks to add another banner to the rafters. His versatility should lead to head coach Kenny Atkinson trusting him in a variety of situations.
Maybe the Cavaliers will go on to win their second title in franchise history next year and Wade’s defensive chops will prove to be important to the team getting over the championship hump. Cleveland is still searching for its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance during its “core four” era.