Cleveland Cavaliers' offseason was incredibly entertaining and the team has gone through a lot of ups and downs during it. Despite making the NBA Finals for the past three years and winning one championship, the Cavaliers almost completely changed their roster this summer. It all started with a front office change as Cleveland decided to let David Griffin, their general manager, go.
Even though their offseason started bad, the reigning Eastern Conference champions managed to bounce back and rebuild themselves for the next season. While they lost one of their best players in Kyrie Irving, they have gained much more and will be much better than they were last season.
The latest addition to the Cavaliers roster was Dwyane Wade, a veteran shooting guard who decided to reunite with LeBron James in Cleveland.
Wade's role on the Cavaliers
It was speculated that Dwyane Wade could be just a backup shooting guard for the Cavaliers. The 35-year-old guard is not exactly in his prime anymore and the fact that he can't shoot three-pointers doesn't help him at all. In this scenario, J.R. Smith would be a starting shooting guard while Wade would come off the bench and be a leader of the second unit.
Even though Wade is one of the greatest guards to ever play in the league, this move would make a lot of sense for Cleveland as Smith gives the team much more spacing than Wade.
Furthermore, J.R. Smith has been on the team for a few years and he already fits in well. On the other side, it's questionable how well Dwyane Wade will fit in the team since he's a new player.
Tyronn Lue says he has named Dwyane Wade his starting shooting guard to start the season. J.R. Smith will come off the bench.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 9, 2017
Fortunately for Wade, he won't have to sacrifice his role on the Cavaliers as head coach Tyronn Lue announced he would be a starter.
The shooting guard has come off the bench in only 11 games during his entire career, mostly as a rookie, and it would definitely be a big change for him. Wade is used to being the first option on a team and using him as a backup would require a lot of adjustment.
Other changes for Cleveland
Beside Wade and Smith fighting for a starting shooting guard spot, the Cavaliers also have to decide whether they will use Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson as a starting center.
Thompson started in every single game last season while Love was playing as a power forward. However, the Cavaliers acquired Jae Crowder from the trade with the Boston Celtics and they want to use him as a starter. With Crowder in the starting five, Love would most likely be a starter while Thompson would be his backup.
