CLEVELAND -- Days after officially signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwyane Wade sat down for an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols alongside LeBron James.
"What he does on the floor is obviously what D-Wade does," James said. "But it's just weird. Like you show up to the facility and you be like, 'He's here?'"
James wasn't the only one to share such sentiment.
For the 46 games in which Wade suited up in wine and gold during the 2017-18 season, something never seemed to look quite right. Perhaps it was that for the first 13 years of his NBA career, Wade had only worn black and red (12 seasons with the Miami Heat, one with the Chicago Bulls). More likely, it was the reality that he was an ill-fitting piece on an even iller-fitting roster.
For the 13 seasons prior, Wade had come to Cleveland as the opponent -- often times for high profile matchups against James and sometimes for ones while playing alongside him. On Friday, he'll visit Quicken Loans Arena for one final time as a part of the #OneLastDance retirement tour he announced prior to the start of this season.
And while Wade will ultimately be remembered for wearing the Heat jersey he'll be donning on Friday, his brief stint in Cleveland remains a unique -- if not obscure -- part of both his and the Cavs' history. With that in mind, let's take a look back at Wade's time in Cleveland, which while brief, was nothing short of memorable.
Sept. 27, 2017 - Three days after agreeing to a buyout with the Chicago Bulls, Wade finalizes a one-year contract with the Cavs for the veteran's minimum salary.
“There's no better place to be right now to continue to play and compete at the highest level," Wade said in a statement on Twitter. "Cleveland believes in my talents and what I can bring to a championship contender, both as a player and leader. I look forward to reuniting and playing alongside my brother LeBron. We’ve already won two championships together and I hope we win a third.”
Sept. 28, 2017 - Meeting with reporters following practice, Cavs starting shooting guard J.R. Smith is asked how the addition of Wade will affect his role.
Sept. 29, 2017 - Wade meets with the media at Cleveland Clinic Courts for the first time since signing with the Cavs. Asked about his relationship with James, Wade says, “It’s like peanut butter and jelly. It just goes together."
Meanwhile, head coach Tyronn Lue reveals that Wade had run backup point guard during his first practice with the team, but wouldn't commit to a role for the 12-time All-Star.
Oct. 2, 2017 - With James sidelined due to an ankle injury, both Wade and Smith appear alongside the starters in the Cavs' annual 'Wine & Gold Scrimmage.'
Oct. 9, 2017 - Lue announces that Wade will be Cleveland's starting shooting guard to open the season, with Smith moving to the bench.
"That's coach's decision," Smith said earlier in the preseason. "If anything it makes us stronger, whether if I come off the bench or if [Wade] comes off the bench, however it works. I don't really focus on that, honestly."
Oct. 17, 2017 - Wade scores 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting in the Cavs' season-opening win over the Boston Celtics. Smith adds 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench.
Oct. 23, 2017 - After averaging just 5.6 points per game on 7-of-25 shooting, Wade is moved to bench in favor of Smith.
In explaining the move, Lue reveals it was Wade who made the suggestion.
"We talked about it before he got here that it'd be a better fit for him coming off the bench," Lue said of Wade. "He's been a starter for his whole career, so we wanted to try to start him. He came to me and said, 'You know what, coach? What you said was right. I might be able to be featured more and handle the ball more in the second-unit. Let's make that move and make that adjustment.' He came to me with it after the game the other night."
Dec. 2, 2017 - After averaging 8.2 points on .431 percent shooting in October, Wade increases both his scoring and shooting percentages in November and December (11.7 points, .450 percent shooting). Prior to a victory over the Memphis Grizzlies in which Wade scored 16 points off the bench, James proclaims his teammate the early front-runner for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
"D-Wade would probably be leading that right now," James says, "but there's a long way to go."
Jan. 24, 2018 - Indeed there was.
While Wade's early-winter surge coincided with an 18-1 stretch for the Cavs -- by far, their best of the season -- the team struggled to successfully integrate point guard Isaiah Thomas upon his return from a hip injury in early-January. As the team struggles on the court, losing seven of its first 10 games to open the New Year, it also disintegrates off of it.
The tension that seemingly defined the first half of Cleveland's season reaches its breaking point on Jan. 23, where Wade and Thomas are reportedly key figures in an "emotionally charged" team meeting in which Kevin Love is questioned for his absence from the second half of a blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and practice the following day.
Love later reveals his brief departure came as the result of a panic attack.
Feb. 8, 2018 - As their on-court struggles continue, the Cavs orchestrate a reshuffling of their roster at the NBA trade deadline, dealing Thomas and Channing Frye to the Los Angeles Lakers for Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson in one deal and Iman Shumpert to the Sacramento Kings and Derrick Rose to the Utah Jazz in exchange for George Hill and Rodney Hood in a 3-team trade.
Cleveland, however, orchestrates another surprising deal when it sends Wade back to the team he spent the first 13 seasons of his NBA career with, the Heat, in exchange for merely a heavily protected second-round pick.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the Cavs approached Wade with the prospects of the deal, which he signed off on. While James admits he "hated" to see one of his best friends go, he also said he felt like Wade "belonged" in Miami.
"It was just wasn’t working,” Wade says in an interview with ESPN following the trade. “It just wasn’t fitting the way a championship organization want to see fit… Guys are happy and I don’t want anyone to talk bad about the guys that (were) there like it was their fault. It didn’t work and everyone’s moved on to their respective places and everyone’s happy.”
June 7, 2018 - With the Cavs facing an 0-3 deficit to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, James admits during a press conference that he has wondered how much better equipped his team would be if it hadn't traded Wade.
"Oh, absolutely," James says. "Not only from a brotherhood aspect and what we know about one another, and also from an experience factor. I believe that he would have been very, very good for us in the postseason. He's a guy that's kind of built for the postseason at this point in his career, who lives for the moment."
July 1, 2018 - James leaves Cleveland to sign a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers -- a move Wade would later reveal he knew was likely when he signed with the Cavs.
September 16, 2018 - Wade, who averaged 12.0 points in 21 regular season games after rejoining the Heat, announces the 2018-19 season will be the final of his 16-year NBA career.
Dec. 28, 2018 - After scoring 10 points in a victory over the Cavs in Miami, Wade reveals to Joe Vardon of The Athletic that he didn't actually want to be traded from Cleveland a season prior.
“That’s why I signed there in the first place,” Wade says. “If I had known that was gonna happen (the trade), I wouldn’t have signed there. It’s gonna be an item on my resume that’s hard to understand, but it happened. I know I filled my role while I was there, as a veteran and a leader. At least I can say I made some really cool relationships with the people who were there.”
