Throughout his NBA career, the Cleveland Cavaliers have asked Dean Wade to be more selfish on offense. That doesn't mean the Cavs want Wade to be the No. 1 option on offense. Instead, when Wade finds himself open on the perimeter, Cleveland wants him to take the three-point shot. Under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, it's become a focus during training camp and preseason action. In two preseason contests, Wade has taken ten threes in 42 minutes. But to Atkinson, that still isn't good enough for how he wants to maximize Cleveland's offense when Wade is on the floor.
“Man, too much pump-faking tonight,” Atkinson said after Cleveland's preseason loss to the Indiana Pacers. “Let that thing ride, let that thing go. I just think he doesn’t know how good a shooter he is.”
This is something Wade seems to be aware of. He also seems tired of hearing about how he needs to shoot more three-pointers. So much so that he jokingly gave teammate Jarrett Allen two middle fingers from the other side of the locker room when Allen was about to answer a question about Wade’s shooting.
“Yeah, he needs to shoot more,” Allen said, trying not to laugh at Wade's gesture. “He has open looks, and I know he wants to share the ball and make the correct play, but sometimes the right play is shooting the ball.
“I’m sold on Dean Wade. I think he can do anything when he puts his mind to it.”
Can Dean Wade become an even better shooter for the Cavs?
However, despite Atkinson's comments and Allen's support, Wade had to almost talk himself into believing that he was that good of a shooting threat.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m a pretty good shooter as is,” Wade said. “But yeah. No, I think so. I think I know how good a shooter I am.”
Wade has connected on 37.1% of his 3.1 three-point attempts per game for his career. When Wade has it going from the perimeter, it's hard to defend him because of how the Cavs utilize him on offense. Wade can be deployed as a small forward on some offensive possessions, acting as a connector piece between Cleveland's guards and bigs. On others, Wade acts as a floor-spacing big man, pulling opposing power forwards and centers away from the paint and opening up driving lanes for the Cavs' guards. Moreover, Wade has shown comfort in defending three through five when Cleveland needs him to.
“Usually when you go quote-on-quote small, you feel super vulnerable defensively, but with him, you don’t,” Atkinson said. “Even if they have a traditional five out there, he can hold his own. You don’t feel overwhelmed, so that’s a real plus.
“He’s like in the 93rd percentile of isolation defense. So you can switch with him. He can lock anyone up that’s in front of him, and then he can firm up against the big [centers].”
While he's solid on defense, Wade's issue at the center is that the Cavs plummet offensively. Wade has the skills to be one of the most coveted three-and-D players in the league. Few can combine the defensive versatility to comfortably guard the three through five at a high level and be as good of an outside shooter. The problem is that Cleveland needs Wade to shoot the ball more from the perimeter. If he does that, it'll bring a two-way balance, no matter his position.
Wade has the skills to be one of the most coveted three-and-D players in the league. Few players can match his defensive versatility to comfortably guard the three through five at a high level while still acting as a constant perimeter threat. But to reach that potential, Wade has to take on Atkinson's challenge and fire away.