Is Adding Dwayne Wade Good Enough to Win the Cavs Another Title?

Another day, another big NBA name on the move. This one isn't as shocking as Carmelo to OKC though. As many expected, after being bought out by the Bulls, Dwayne Wade made it clear that he will sign with the Cavs once he clears waivers at some point today. Two thirds of the Heat's "big 3" will be back together for what seems like one final season.

This move I am a bit more bullish on than I was with Carmelo to OKC. Where I like the fit in OKC, I see this as the Cavs having way too many guards that all will want equal playing time. It should be fine at first, what with Isaiah Thomas supposedly out until the All Star break. But, when he comes back, they have a glut of guards. On their roster now they have Derrick Rose, Kay Felder, Kyle Korver, JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, LeBron James, Isaish Thomas and, when it becomes official, Dwayne Wade. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 7 legit guards, and for all intents and purposes, LeBron pretty much runs the offense, so 8. They have 8 guards on a roster that holds 12 players. That is too much. Now, I'm sure someone like Kay Felder will be relegated to the D League, and they will look to move Shumpert most likely, but that still leaves you with 6 guards. How is Ty Lue going to find playing time for all 6 of these guards.

As pointed out, it will be a bit easier at the start of the year with the Thomas injury. Lue should be able to find a rotation where Rose, Wade and LeBron get the brunt of the minutes at the 1 or 2. So, that leaves 2 guys, Korver and Smith, in unknown territory. Korver will probably switch to an instant offense off the bench guy, but they are paying a player of his talent a lot of money for what will be 10-15 minutes a night. Korver's best days are far behind him, and he will see his playing time almost completely disappear. Smith, on the other hand, is a much better scorer than Korver, and he can play some defense when engaged. He has also come up big at times for the Cavs in the last 3 Finals. He has made, and taken, some of the biggest shots for this team. Now is he just going to have to give those minutes to Wade because he and LeBron are best friends? That is unfair to a guy that has found the perfect place for him to play basketball.

I think JR Smith is going to become very unhappy at the diminished role he will see.

Then we have Derrick Rose. By virtue of trades and injuries, he will probably be the starting point guard on opening night for the Cavs. Yikes. Rose was great while in Chicago for his first 3 years. Hell, he won an MVP. But his last 2 years with the Bulls were riddled with injuries and last year with the Knicks was a total disaster. I do not think he is the driving force that he was 5 years ago, and he cannot shoot the jumper with any consistency. He is also a ball dominant player, and we saw what happened to another ball dominant guy playing with LeBron, Kyrie. Irving got so much better, but he was so unhappy. So much so that he begged to be traded, and he was. Also, Derrick Rose is nowhere near the player that Kyrie Irving is right now. They are not even on the same planet.

And now they have to insert Wade into their starting 5 because he is Dwayne Wade and he and LeBron are best buddies. Wade is an all time great. I love the way he plays basketball. He is a joy to watch when he is fully engaged. The problem lately with him though, he cannot go a full season. He either gets hurt or needs rest. He is old, Carmelo Anthony old, in basketball terms. The Cavs will be lucky if he plays 60 games this season. I know that he has had a ton of playoff success, but not lately. He disappeared in the last couple of finals he went to with the Heat and LeBron, and with the Bulls last year, it was all about Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo. Wade was a non factor. But, he will be starting on this Cavs team.

The Cavs will also have to find a way to insert Thomas back into the lineup when he gets back, and I just don't know how that is going to work for him and the Cavs.

So, if I sit down and try to figure out the starting 5 for the Cavs this year, I come up with Rose, Wade, LeBron, Jae Crowder and either Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson, depending on if they want defense or offense that night. I don't think Love or Thompson will be thrilled with a move to the bench. I also think JR Smith will be pissed off too. But, this is what LeBron wants. He wants to play basketball with his buddies. And for the East, this will work because the East is horrendous. The Cavs will, barring major injuries, win the East again, and get smoked by the Warriors again. Sure, they are getting smaller, but the guys they have are much older and will not be able to keep up with the Warriors. Who is going to guard KD? LeBron. Great, then put someone like Rose on Curry and Wade on Klay. Both of those guys will torch them. Same can be said for any number of matchups between these 2 teams.

Like I said yesterday, I love that teams are trying to match the Warriors, but in the long run, it doesn't matter. The Warriors are too young and too good. Also, this move makes the Cavs a much older team, and that just won't cut it against the Warriors. So while I'm happy that LeBron and Wade are back together again, I still don't think it will matter in the end. The Warriors will sweep them out of the finals and run them off the floor.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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