The 76ers are already staring at a problem they can’t dodge, and it pushes Dean Wade into a far bigger role than the Cavaliers ever asked of him.
That sounds odd on its face for a team loaded with star power, but the fit is simple: Wade gives Philadelphia something it may end up needing more than anything else - flexibility. With the season barely underway, that flexibility suddenly matters even more after backup center Ariek Hukporti tore his Achilles in the preseason opener and will miss the entire year.
Philadelphia can cover a lot of ground when one of its stars sits. There are enough high-end ball-handlers, creators and scorers to reshuffle things on the fly.
But Wade is different. He’s the kind of player who lets those rearrangements actually work, because he can move across frontcourt spots and still hold up on both ends.
The bigger issue is what’s happening at center. Joel Embiid is expected to miss plenty of time this season even if he stays relatively healthy, and that makes depth at the position a real need rather than a luxury.
On those nights, Adem Bona looks like the only true center likely to be rotation-worthy. That’s where Wade comes in.
Philadelphia may end up leaning on him at center more than it does at any other spot. In some lineups, he could even start there, functioning as one of the two bigs alongside LeBron James. The 76ers need him to defend, to space the floor and to cover both forward spots, but they are almost certainly going to ask him to serve as a smallball 5 early and often.
Cleveland used Wade well, but it never pushed him this far. He was a valuable piece there, starting at small forward during last season’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals and fitting naturally at power forward because of his size, strength and dependable shooting. The Cavaliers also used him at center at times, though only sparingly - about a tenth of the time - and usually in short stretches.
That was the key difference. The Cavaliers had Evan Mobley or Jarrett Allen available over the last two seasons when they turned to Wade at center. They could experiment without depending on him to absorb heavy minutes there.
Philadelphia may not have that luxury. It will not be able to hide behind a true backup plan for long, and it certainly is not going to send Tacko Fall out there for major minutes. If Embiid is unavailable, Wade could be the player the 76ers turn to most when they need the lineup to stay functional.
He has already shown he can handle whatever is thrown at him. The difference now is that the task is bigger, the margin is thinner, and the 76ers may need him in a way the Cavaliers never did.
In Other News...
Cavaliers May Have Found The Wing Help This Roster Needed
Mario Hezonja is back on an NBA roster, and the Cavaliers are taking a low-risk look at a player whose journey has taken him through several seasons in Europe. Cleveland brought him in on a one-year minimum deal as part of its effort to shore up wing depth, and early exhibition games have suggested there may be something worth exploring here beyond simple camp competition.
Hezonja has looked more physical and athletic in those tune-up minutes, which is exactly the sort of trait that can matter for a team trying to build a sturdier bench behind its core. If that carries into the season, he could give the Cavaliers a useful option on the wing and potentially bring more to the table than Dean Wade did in that reserve role, even as the larger question remains how much of this early promise translates once the games count. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Exposed A Cavaliers Problem Kenny Atkinson Has To Solve
The Cavaliers preseason opener offered Kenny Atkinson an early look at both the promise and the problems still waiting to be sorted out. Cleveland fell to Boston 124-113, and while the score mattered less than the process, Atkinson had plenty to like from the way Peyton Watson attacked with creativity and athleticism, along with the work of second-round pick Meleek Thomas and Craig Porter Jr.
What stood out most, though, was how often the Celtics kept creating extra chances, a reminder that the Cavs front line has some clean-up to do before the games count for real. The rebounding issues were hard to miss, and with James Harden out as a precaution because of ankle soreness, the opener became less about the final result and more about how quickly Cleveland can tighten the details that tend to decide better teams. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Proctor Just Made Clevelands Guard Battle A Lot More Real
Tyrese Proctor has already done the part young guards usually hear about and then have to prove later. After getting feedback from Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson, he put real work into strength training and showed notable physical improvement, a sign that Clevelands development message is landing with him. For a team trying to sort out its backcourt depth, that matters, especially with Proctor working to carve out a role in a group that also includes Craig Porter Jr. and Meleek Thomas.
Proctors case gets stronger because he is not just adding muscle, he is absorbing lessons from established scorers around him, including Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. That kind of daily education can speed up the learning curve, but the Cavaliers still appear to be looking for a very specific defensive profile before they settle the backup guard rotation. So while Proctor has made this competition more interesting, the final shape of the bench remains very much up in the air. [Read more 🡒]