With the Cleveland Cavaliers in the middle of a rough patch, losing three of their last ten games, the team needs to get things turned around fast as the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers are closing in from behind. However, the Cavaliers will have to deal with their upcoming schedule without one of their top stars. The Cavaliers just made some big changes to their starting lineup, with Tristan Thompson replacing Jae Crowder and Kevin Love moving back to the power forward position. Now, they will have to play without their leader of the second-team unit.
Who is leaving the Cavaliers?
Just hours before the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, the team learned that Dwyane Wade will be leaving the team immediately to deal with family issues. According to ESPN, the reason for Wade taking time away are for dealing with a "personal matter" and there is no timeline set for his return.
Head coach Tyronn Lue said that Wade will miss some time but did not go into details about what the personal matters contained or any sort of timetable for his return to the team. According to Lue, Cavaliers' general manager, Koby Altman told Wade to "take his time," making it sound like this is a serious matter that the former MVP has to deal with.
According to ESPN, it is a family emergency.
What is next for the Cavaliers?
Dwyane Wade opened the 2017-18 NBA season as the starting shooting guard but soon asked to move to the second-team to help the Cavs. Once Wade moved, he started to thrive in his new position, running the team when the starters were resting. In his new role, Wade has averaged 11.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists over the 42 games he has played.
With Wade not able to run the second-team until he returns to the Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue said that Derrick Rose will get more minutes. Rose missed two months with an ankle injury and he has been on a minutes-restriction to ensure that he reaches full-strength again.
In the three games since he returned, Rose has averaged 15.6 minutes-per-game with averages of 9.0 points, 1.6 assists and 1.6 rebounds a game.
Rose is a point guard and backs up Isaiah Thomas but Dwyane Wade was a good hybrid player that could work both guard spots.
it is also important to remember that the Cleveland Cavaliers have looked at trading for two different guards in Kemba Walker and George Hill. Recent rumors indicated that could trade Isaiah Thomas as well, and Dwyane Wade's recent emergency could make those trades important to pull off now.