This feature article is presented by Betway.
The offseason, leading into Training Camp, is a chance for players to get a fresh start – to wash away the struggles of the previous season and begin building for the next.
Dean Wade is a guy ready for a fresh start.
After getting off to a solid start, the undrafted forward struggled to stay healthy in the first half of the season, and he never caught his rhythm when he returned in the second half (again battling the injury bug down the stretch).
Joining Darius Garland as the second-longest tenured Cavalier (behind only Cedi Osman) on the squad, Wade started four of Cleveland’s first eight games this year, netting double-figures in three of those contests. But a sore right knee in early November sidelined him for the next six games.
Wade returned just before Thanksgiving and was quickly re-inserted into the starting lineup. Cleveland would win four of those next six outings, with Wade snagging a career-high-tying 12 boards in a victory over the Bucks. But the undrafted forward from Kansas State’s season would be temporarily derailed in the first half of a win over Orlando in early December – suffering a left shoulder sprain that would cost him the next 23 games.
After he returned from the shoulder injury, Wade wasn’t quite the same over the final stretch of the regular season and into the Playoffs.
In the last 27 games of the regular season, he shot 38 percent from the floor, including 31 percent from long-range. He came back to start the final four games of the year, but didn’t see action in eight of the previous 11 contests before that. In the First Round series against New York, the 4th-year man played in just two games, logging just over 11 minutes off the bench.
On the season overall, Wade averaged 4.7ppg and 3.4rpg, appearing in 44 games with 13 starts. He shot 41 percent from the floor and 35 percent from long-range, with five outings of double-digit scoring. He led the squad in blocked shots on seven occasions this year and twice in steals.
HIGHLIGHT – Before injuries interfered, Dean Wade was off to a rock-solid start to the season. After going 3-for-4 from the floor for 12 points off the bench in a win against Washington in the third game of the year, Wade was inserted into the starting lineup and dropped a dozen more points on the Magic in that victory.
After a quiet night against Boston, Wade would proceed to have his finest offensive night of the campaign – finishing with a career-high 22 points in an Oct. 30 showdown with the Knicks, going 8-for-11 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three-point range, adding four boards and three assists in the 121-108 win.
BY THE NUMBERS – .769 … Cavaliers winning percentage this year – 10-3 – with Dean Wade in the starting lineup. In those starts, the former Wildcat averaged 6.6 points and 4.8 boards, shooting .408 from the floor and .407 from long-range.
Over the course of his four-year career, the Cavs are 33-27 in Wade’s 60 starts.
QUOTABLE – Dean Wade, on expectations last season compared to in years past …
“I don’t really think the approach has changed at all. The past few years, I didn’t know if I was going to play, but I still always prepared as if I was going to play. And this year, I’m doing the same thing – I’m preparing like I’m going to play every game and I usually do play. But the approach has stayed the same, I just think the expectations from the coaching staff and my teammates – and for myself – is a lot higher than it has been in the past. That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing to have those expectations. But I don’t want to go out there and let anyone down. So, my approach stays the same because I want to go out there and help us win and not let anybody down.”
LOOKING AHEAD – Both the Cavaliers and Dean Wade know he’s a better player than he looked over the final half of the 2022-23 season. The 26-year-old Wichita native simply had his season ruined by injuries.
If Wade is able to get back on track, he’s an integral part of the Cavs immediate future. Depending on other decisions the team’s brass makes along the frontline this offseason, Wade will be one of the more dependable big men on the roster behind Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. As either a starter or reserve, Cleveland will need Wade to bounce back better if it’s going to take that next step in the Eastern Conference.