Dwyane Wade instigated Cavs’ locker room incident

It isn’t uncommon for information regarding a conflict to come out after the involved parties are no longer together. Sports are no different, as the Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be airing out the full story on their failed experiment this past summer.

As reported by Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, while Isaiah Thomas may have confronted Kevin Love in the locker room, it was Dwyane Wade that brought the issue up at practice:

But, sources said, it was Wade who first made an issue of it at practice Monday, challenging Lue to disclose where Love had been. Numerous players verbally attacked Love, who eventually explained his absence to the team as part of a wide-ranging, heated discussion in which virtually no one was immune from criticism.

Wade’s name began to arise in trade discussions then, sources said. Days later, when Wade’s agent Henry Thomas died, Heat president Pat Riley sought out Wade at Thomas’ funeral to smooth over rough edges from their falling out when Wade left the Heat as a free agent in the summer of 2016, sources said.

This isn’t necessarily new information, as The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd had reported that Isaiah Thomas and Wade lead the charge against Love. But it is news that the team began shopping Wade and including him in trade discussions after the incident.

For all the times the team has questioned Love, or shopped him, it’s funny to see Wade get moved as a result of questioning him. Of course, the overall toxicity of the locker room was the real problem, and Wade was just a contributing factor in the situation. But this explanation does help shine light on why the team moved Wade for nothing, when his departure wasn’t necessary to complete the other moves.

If Wade was causing issues while being a good fit off the bench, it was a proactive decision by Koby Altman to move him when he no longer would fit within the rotation.