Cleveland was getting a three-time champion, a future first ballot Basketball Hall of Famer, a shooting guard who could fill in some of the scoring void created after the Kyrie Irving trade — for the low, low price of a veteran’s minimum contract worth $2.3 million.
For a luxury tax-laden team like the Cavs, it felt like divine intervention. But the blessed union took a turn for the worse almost immediately, according to sources. First, when bringing on Wade meant needing to trade away popular locker room presence Richard Jefferson to create an open roster spot. Then, when Wade balked at Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue’s plan to bring him off the bench. Wade, insisting he was more comfortable playing the starting role he had filled his entire 15-year NBA career, started the Cavs’ first three games and struggled mightily, shooting 7-for-25 from the field. After a blowout loss to the Orlando Magic in the third game, Wade approached Lue about coming off the bench, as Lue initially suggested. JR Smith, displaced by Wade’s addition, was plugged back into the starting unit, but the damage was done: The demotion affected Smith mentally, and his on-court production dipped.
