NBA: Wade at the Cavs: The Spirit of 2012?

Dwyane Wade will join the Cleveland Cavaliers after his buyout at the Chicago Bulls.The dream duo of the former Heat championship team around Wade and LeBron is thus reunited.But what should the role of the aging star look like in Cleveland?

It has become a kind of fashion phenomenon in the NBA that various All-Stars join other All-Stars to defeat a team full of other All-Stars (the Warriors).This applies to OKC or the Rockets and now also to the Cavs, which will announce Dwyane Wade’s commitment shortly.

No one is really surprised.As soon as D-Wade had drawn his $23.8 million option from the Bulls at the beginning of the summer, it was clear that this was a purely financial decision of the 35-year-old – and not a sporting one.The Bulls wanted to rebuild what would hardly have worked with an ambitious calf that wanted to win games.

Accordingly, rumours were circulated early on that the Bulls would agree on a buyout with the player before the training camp.Wade waives 8 million dollars and raises a total of 16 million dollars from the Windy City.The next step took place a little later: The Cavs – as it is said in the corresponding media – have agreed with The Flash on a commitment to the veteran minimum (2.3 million dollars for one year).

There’s no doubt that the scenario fits Wade.Although he had always emphasized that it was not necessary to “chase”after further wrestling, he certainly never wanted to stand there without the chance of a deep play-off ride.Now his skills are merging with those of his good friend LeBron James, with whom he celebrated two championships with the Miami Heat between 2010 and 2014.

Buddy LeBron had already campaigned aggressively for Wade on Monday on Media Day,”It would be great to have him on the team,”he said before the round of journalists,”He would bring championship DNA and be another playmaker who could create for himself and the other litters.He has a very high basketball IQ.”

Now the Cavs have six All-Stars (Rose, Thomas, Wade, LeBron, Love, Korver) and two former MVPs in their ranks – more than the warriors (4 All-Stars, 2 MVPs).This is certainly not a guarantee for the great success, after all, the successful strategy of the past few years has been thrown overboard.

Under the leadership of General Manager David Griffin, who was dismissed this summer, LeBron’s second term of office has always been guided by the motto:”Get as many shooter as possible, who will take care of spacing next to James.Nearly every deal was aimed at this: the sale of Timofey Mozgov or the acquisition of Channing Frye and Kyle Korver are examples of this.

This should be over now, especially since Isaiah Thomas, who will hit the long ball reliably, will presumably not return until January.At Wade’s start of last season, there was every hope that his little hand would suddenly reach beyond the magical line, but in the end his share of downtown fell back to 31 percent.

In terms of Spacings, it seems to coach Tyronn Lue to be an option to bring Wade as the sixth man, who boosts the offense when LeBron sits on the bench.In this case, Rose and Smith would be the starters in the backcourt, with Smith being responsible for the shooting.

It would also be an option to set Wade up until Thomas’ comeback to Point Guard.Its playmaker capabilities are probably better than those of Rose, who could either move up to two or act as a backup (which is the intended role of the ex-MVP anyway).

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One can assume the following realistic starting five: Rose-Wade-James-Love-Thompson.In this lineup, Love would be the only proven throwing specialist, which would completely turn the game system of the past season upside down.Alternatively, a lineup could be conceivable in which Love moves to the Five, LeBron to the Four and Crowder as another wing player and strong defender to the Three.

The fact is: Crowder’s defensive abilities are badly needed.Particularly on the wing and on the guard positions there are hardly any specialists available.Neither Rose nor Thomas are defensive upgrades to Irving, and that’s something else.Wade can be a factor with his playing intelligence and instinct, but he can’t become a dreaded chain dog any more.

The last question remains: Have the cavs really gotten better after this move?This answer will have to be provided by Coach Lue with a new offensive direction and Wade’s fitness level.However, the risk for the franchise is not particularly high, since only 1.3 million dollars of Wade’s salary count against the cap.Only one other player would have to be released, probably Kendrick Perkins.

But they don’t seem to have come any closer to the ultimate goal of the Cavs to push the Warriors back from the throne.The accumulation of all-stars on the wrong side of their prime is not enough – the defense in the backcourt, the spacing and the balance of the squad seems too weak.With NBA 2K12 it would certainly be a lot of fun to play with this roster.