Dwyane Wade volunteers to come off bench for Cavs
Dwyane Wade’s brief stint as the starting shooting guard of the Cleveland Cavaliers appears to be over.
Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said on Monday that Wade will be replaced by JR Smith in the starting lineup after he approached Lue and said that he would like to come off the bench, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Ty Lue says Dwyane Wade came to him and said he wants to come off the bench. JR Smith back to the starting 5.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 23, 2017
The 12-time All-Star Wade averaged just 5.7 points on 28.0 percent shooting in three games as a starter and recently admitted that he was struggling to find his place with the team. While that’s not entirely surprising for Wade, an aging guard who operates primarily from the midrange, given that he was playing next to ball dominators like LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Derrick Rose, a bench role should indeed be much better suited for him on this team.
Smith, who was never pleased about being benched in the first place, will return to the starting unit to improve their defense and three-point shooting. Meanwhile, Wade can be the go-to scorer and creator for the second unit. Wade’s veteran savvy and synergy with James could still make him an enticing option to close out games for the Cavs, so all things considered, the three-time champion’s willingness to take one for the team has to be a net positive here.