This is something that I heard right from the beginning.
D Wade coming to the Cavs was great for LeBron and not for anyone else. Some of it is his fault, some LeBron and some just wrong place, wrong time type of situation.
Cleveland.com breaks it all down.
A team source said if anything, James felt relief from the Wade trade — relief from a pressure point he’d helped create.
In the hours leading up to the start of training camp, though, Wade secured a buyout of his lucrative contract from the Chicago Bulls. He wanted to join James, at James’ urging, on the Cavs, and the team’s front office didn’t feel it was in a position to say no.
The move crushed JR Smith, who is otherwise close to James and is represented by the same agent, Rich Paul. Lue wanted Wade to come off the bench and for Smith to remain in the starting lineup, but Wade had never been a bench player in each of his first 14 seasons.
So when Wade opened the season starting alongside Rose, Smith was devastated. It took just three games for Wade — who struggled as a starter — to request a move to the bench, but Smith’s recovery took months.
Wade’s arrival also meant the team had to trade Richard Jefferson, a popular veteran who was here for the 2016 championship.
Wade turned 36 in January. The wear and tear would show some nights. When he played on the second night of back-to-back games he struggled, and coaches grumbled that he was slow to get back on defense.
As things started heading south for the Cavs in January, Wade was an instigator in the infamous team meeting Jan. 22, hours before they flew to San Antonio.
As things started heading south for the Cavs in January, Wade was an instigator in the infamous team meeting Jan. 22, hours before they flew to San Antonio.
Yes, Thomas was upset that Kevin Love went home with an illness before a 24-point loss to Oklahoma City had concluded on Jan. 20, and that he was not at practice the following day. But, sources said, it was Wade who first made an issue of it on Monday.
Wade’s emergence as the captain of the Cavs’ second unit turned out to be maybe the unluckiest component of another unlucky season for Rose.
Lue, who brought him to the Cavs, looked to shoehorn Rose into the rotation. First, Lue said, Rose would play on nights when Wade needed a rest. Lue ended up playing the two together, and using Rose alongside Thomas.
The Cavs wanted to split James and Thomas, who weren’t meshing well, so Thomas saw more time with the second unit. But that was Wade’s unit, and now Rose was out there too. Also, James wasn’t playing nearly as much with Kyle Korver, who thrives off of catching James’ pinpoint passes for 3s.
The Cavs were at their best when Thomas, Rose, Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert were out with injuries. When everyone was healthy was when they played their worst.
That last sentence was the critical one. The mix was bad from the jump. If they never bring in Wade, maybe this odd power struggle never exists, but whatever the case they are getting a reboot and we will see what happens when playoffs roll around.