Dean Wade

all right one team to go here in the atlantic division preview the philadelphia 76ers this team did a lot this offseason remember last season they finished as the seventh seed 45 and 37. their fan duel line is 48 and a half here's what they did What they added, right? LeBron James.

Dean Wade from Cleveland, Anthony Simons from Chicago, Ariel Hukaporti from the Knicks, Caleb Love from the Portland Trailblazers, former U of A guy, Ryan Rupert from the Memphis Grizzlies.

They lost Quentin Grimes in free agency, Kelly Oubre Jr., who went to the Pacers, Andre Drummond, who went to the Knicks, Trendon Watford, who went to the New Orleans Pelicans.

And then, of course, via trade, they added Jalen Brown, They lost Paul George and Johnny Broom, who I like Johnny Broom from Auburn.

You got LeBron James and Jalen Brown joining Maxie and Bede and Edgecombe.

This gives them the star power, but it's also how deep this roster is that goes beyond names like that that makes me think that they're the best team in the East, in my opinion.

You know, when you have Anthony Simons coming off the bench, when you got Dean Wade, when you have all these guys who, you know, this isn't Shemezi Metu and Yuta Watanabe built around the Suns core.

No, this is a team that already possesses all-stars.

Joel Embiid's durability is going to be an issue, right? And...

Frankly, Dean Wade's durability is going to be an issue, right? Like we know as impactful as Dean can be, he is going to miss a month or two at a time.

And then when he comes back, it's going to take him another month to start playing like Dean Wade again, right? We're just very, very close to for 30 games in a season.

Ariel Huckporty is starting next to LeBron James immediately.

or LeBron's not even starting and it's Dean and Huck Porty out there or whomever else, right? I think the Cavs are going to finish higher than Philly in the standings.

Given this money to Payton Watson now.

Still have a slew of, you know, role players, uh, Dean Wade.

Oh, no, Dean Wade's not even there no more.

Bloody hell, I think he's in-- Ooh.

Is he in the S- If he's-- Does he play for the Sixers now as well? Dean Wade's not there no more, but he plays for someone else now.

Wait, he's left?

Yeah, he d- I wanna say he has, but Sam Merrill is definitely there.

It was dark.

Do I love him as running like a small ball five, maybe a four? Eh, not as much.

Um, I think like Dean Wade is a guy that, uh, Philly got him, but like it-- That's the, that's the kinda guy that needs to play with Luka, play him at the four, and he just, he can guard and he shoots threes.

That's what he does.

And I think you got a few guys that kinda do that, like Quentin Grimes shoots a lot, but he's got high motor defensively, but he doesn't have the physical tools to be super switchable.

So there are certainly paths for the 76ers to contend, you know, even without large VJ Edgecombe growth, you know, obviously the team's championship hopes still run through Joel Embiid and his health.

And in certain closing situations, Nick Nurse could opt for guys like, you know, I mentioned Anthony Simons or, Dean Wade or Contavious Caldwell Pope to play around some of those stars in specific situations, depending on what the team needs at the time.

If they need some more size, some more perimeter defense, some more rebounding effort from a forward standpoint, they could go with somebody like a Dean Wade.

Obviously, KCP has proven that he can cover multiple different types of wings in playoff situations.

If they need a little bit more juice offensively, they need another shot creator alongside someone like a Tyrese Maxey or in place of Tyrese Maxey, Nick Nurse can go with someone like an Anthony Simons in that point guard spot rather than rely on Vijay Edgecombe to do more than what you might want to see him do in those playoff situations, especially if he has to give so much effort and energy on the defensive end of the floor.

Then when the standings tighten up and the playoffs get closer, you can start putting more of the responsibility back on the two veterans who are ultimately going to lead this offense.

Which brings me to the next subscriber question from Lloyd from Mayfield Heights, who says, "Of the three folks who left the Cavs from last year, Dean Wade, Dion Ellis, Max Strus, only two, Max Strus and Dean Wade, played significant roles.

Essentially, the Cavs replaced those two players with Jalen Tyson and Peyton Watson.

Do you agree that is a significant difference since the new players have more upside and two-way prowess than the two that left? Secondly, should the Cavs consider pairing Donovan Mitchell more with Jalen Tyson when James Harden sits, since the pairing worked well last year during the regular season?" Well, if I didn't make it clear earlier, yes, I do think there is a significant difference, but I want to be careful with how we frame it because I don't think Jalen Tyson and Peyton Watson are simply replacements for Dean Wade and Max Strus.

They're being asked to replace some of what those players provided, sure.

But they're also being asked to expand the ceiling of the roster, which I think is more important.

Dean Wade and Max Strus were valuable because Cleveland knew exactly what it was getting from them.

Dean Wade, you got positional size, shooting, if he decided to let it fly that night, and defensive versatility.

So who's playing the five? LeBron? Why not?

You want Dean Wade playing the five? Wait, why are we saying Embiid? Question mark?

No, I'm saying, like, who's the backup? Because we know Embiid's always hurt.

Like, when's the last time Embiid's been healthy in the

They basically traded Schroeder.

Dean Wade, I think this also was more of a loss

in my opinion.

I totally forgot about that.