Dwyane Wade stands by his purpose to join the Cavs and that's to win games and bring home the championship. That said, he recently revealed his decision to come off the bench in order to give way to a better start. J.R. Smith will now retain his starting spot with the Cavs while Wade will try to lead the second unit at bay.
According to the NBA, Wade held on to his promise that his ego will not get in the way of the Cavs franchise. His recent decision to get to the second unit proved he's a man of his word. After trying to find his mark in the Cavs' starting lineup, he feels like more can be done if he comes off the bench and proceeded to talk to coach Tyronn Lue about it.
Dwyane Wade response to media
After Monday's practice, Wade said: "Why wait? Three games in, why wait? Wanted to get in there with those guys." Tyronn Lue, despite confirming Wade's request, defended his decision to put him in the starting lineup. "I know he'd been a starter his whole career, so we wanted to try to start him and give him that nod," Lue said. "We talked about it before we got here, (that) it'd be a better fit for him coming off the bench," he added.
This move by Wade will enable to J.R. Smith to reclaim his old post, something that he worked hard during the summer. But for Smith, this is not personal, but a mere question of having redundant players on the first unit. At first, he had doubts that by obtaining Wade, he would join the second unit.
He was originally told that Wade would be a great backup until he realized he lost his spot. It was stressful, but he didn't focus on it too much.
The Cavaliers team on lineup adjustment
Meanwhile, the team's main goal at the moment is to stay healthy in order for them to play the lineup. Coach Lue believes that when they have a healthy lineup, everything else will follow.
LeBron James, on the other hand, said that this is just the first week of the season and most of the adjustment has yet to come.
However, he also stressed that almost everyone in the team is adjusting since the Cavs recently acquired several new players. Jose Calderon will temporarily replace Derrick Rose after the latter sprained his ankle on a flagrant foul in a game against the Orlando Magic.
He will miss at least two games against the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets.
Tyronn Lue has lauded Dwyane Wade's initiative to pull back. After all, he saw what's best for the team and took it upon himself to bring the topic to the table.
