I never thought I would see the day that the Cavs would trade LeBron’s best friend on the team. Dwyane Wade is heading back to the team that drafted him, the Miami Heat.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the news:
Miami will send a heavily protected second-round pick to Cleveland for Wade, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
The Cleveland Cavaliers will now essentially give away Wade for nothing. With the 2nd-round pick being protected, the Cavs will probably never see the draft pick. Wade, 36, is pretty washed up and has mostly played with Cleveland’s second unit. On the surface, the trade seems really odd because LeBron adores Wade and is one of his closest friends. At the same time, the Cavs really needed to get younger and have struggled on the defensive end of the floor ranking 29th in defensive efficiency.
Wade has averaged 11.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. There’s no question that Wade is washed up but he is a key component to the Miami community. Hell, even Dade county considered renaming it to their former champion Dwyane Wade. Wade played the first 13-years of his NBA career in Miami before signing a deal with the Bulls last year. Wade found his way in Cleveland after a buyout but now will head to Miami anyway.
To recap from the Cavs standpoint, George Hill, Rodney Hood, Larry Nance, Jordan Clarkson are heading to Cleveland. They will send out Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, and Jae Crowder. Obviously, the Cleveland Cavaliers also gave up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to shake up the roster that has struggled with chemistry issues all year.
Check out details on the trade with the Lakers:
Check out the details on the trade with the Jazz and Kings
