Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade to play Saturday after missing seven weeks

The Cleveland Cavaliers are getting some needed depth on Saturday night.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (and confirmed by Fear the Sword), Dean Wade plans to play tonight after missing seven weeks with a sprain his left shoulder.

Wade suffered the injury on Dec. 2. and had his return delayed due to an ankle injury he suffered in practice. In 17 games this season, Wade is averaging 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 41.1% from the field and 45.2% from the field.

To start, expect Wade to play off the bench and play 15-20 minutes. There aren’t any restrictions on his minutes a la Ricky Rubio, but he’ll likely play 1-2 stints and gauge how the shoulder feels.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Cavs’ rotation looks like with Wade back too. Someone is going to lose minutes with Wade back — it’s just unclear who. Considering he plays minutes at the three and the four, Lamar Stevens and perhaps Kevin Love would be the obvious options,

He signed a three-year, $18.5 million contract extension before the start of the 2022-23 season.