ORLANDO, Fla. — Everyone has a specific persona.
Donovan Mitchell is the star — the burden-carrier, leader and franchise face.
Evan Mobley is the unicorn — the potentially transcendent youngster who controls Cleveland’s trajectory.
Jarrett Allen is the nerve center — the brainy big whose fingerprints are all over nearly every possession at both ends of the floor.
Darius Garland is the maestro.
Sam Merrill is the marksman.
The list goes on and on.
Some roles are more expansive than others. But each is important in its own right. Each plays part in the Cavs’ championship hopes.
That brings us to Dean Wade, known in the locker room as the “White Blanket” — a nickname former Cavalier Tristan Thomspon gave Wade last year because of his stifling defense.
Unheralded and overlooked, Wade continues to be a linchpin of some of Cleveland’s most used and most effective lineups. He has proven to be an ideal fit as the fifth starter, just like [Saturday’s 119-105 win over the Orlando Magic](https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2026/01/surging-cavs-continue-vaulting-up-the-standings-with-119-105-win-over-magic.html).
“He’s the ultimate glue guy,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of Wade. “That’s the cliche everyone uses but it’s true.”
Defense is Wade’s calling card. It has been for years. After his college career at Kansas State ended, Wade and his agents tried to convince teams he could defend multiple positions. He recognized early that defense was his best path to making it in the NBA and he has relished the challenge of guarding the league’s best.
Despite Cleveland’s slippage at that end of the floor this season, the versatile Wade ranks in the 93rd percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus and is third on the team in D-LEBRON, behind Mobley and pesky Craig Porter Jr. Wade can — and sometimes does — guard five positions, with Atkinson deploying him as a small-ball center.
In 842 minutes with Wade on the floor, the Cavs have a stingy 110.3 defensive rating. In nearly 1400 minutes with him off, their defensive rating increases to 114.4. It’s the statistical difference between the third-ranked San Antonio Spurs and the bottom-half Atlanta Hawks.
Saturday night was Cleveland’s eighth-best defensive performance, holding the Magic to 40.7% from the field and 27.5% from 3-point range. Orlando finished with a wretched 105.0 offensive rating.
Wade was at the center of that, frustrating Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero, switching seamlessly, contesting shots, diving for loose balls, boxing out bigs, grabbing rebounds, blocks, steals, deflections.
“We call him the ‘blanket,’” Mitchell said with a smile. “He finds ways to help us get stops. And then when the ball is up in the air and I can’t get it, with Evan and J.A. boxing out, he goes climbing to grab it. Those are the little things that win you games and also win you playoff games. It’s great to go through these things, figure it out and get better. He was phenomenal.”
That’s two stifling defensive efforts in the last three games — both uncoincidentally coming with Wade in the starting frontcourt alongside Mobley and Allen. The Cavs have a 100.5 defensive rating and a 71.2 defensive rebounding rate with that trio together.
Surging Cleveland is now 6-1 in the last seven games with Wade as a starter. The only loss during that stretch: Monday against reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City.
With Garland sidelined because of a minor toe injury and Merrill still nursing a sprained right hand, Atkinson has been forced to shuffle lineups and rotations. It’s also led to him identifying an intriguing quintet, one that has started each of the last four games.
Jaylon Tyson. Mitchell. Mobley. Allen. Wade.
Size. Length. Athleticism. Versatility. Switchability. Defensive tenacity.
“We’re trying to get our defense back on track,” Atkinson explained when asked about that lineup. “That’s our mindset. And with Jaylon Tyson developing, hopefully he is the next Dean Wade. I’m praying that he is.”
Those same five guys closed out Saturday’s game, playing the final 5:21.
During that stretch, Wade recorded a block, a steal and two rebounds while hitting a dagger 3-pointer.
“I was just trying to give Don space,” Wade humbly said when asked about his late-game impact. “He was cooking in the second half and when all else fails, just give the ball to 45 and get out of his way. My guy helped a few times, and he made great passes and great decisions. I have to take that shot. I saw the play developing and I was like, man, I have to shoot this. If I don’t take that shot, I will be sitting down on the bench and Don will be yelling at me.”
Being low maintenance is part of what makes Wade such a great fit. He doesn’t need touches or shot attempts (he has the lowest usage rate on the team). Plays don’t get run for him. He just blends into the fabric of a team and fills in the gaps.
When Garland returns, there’s no decision. He will go back into the starting lineup. That means either Tyson or Wade shifts to the bench.
Nonetheless, these early-season injuries — even though frustrating and part of the Cavs’ underachievement through the first 47 games — have led to discovery, including a lineup that Atkinson can keep in his back pocket and unleash at any moment.
“There’s a connectivity there,” Mitchell said of the fivesome. “We fly around. We have guys that can really guard. Then you have the two back there that cover up a lot of our mistakes. Then offensively, we’re pushing the pace, playing through myself, playing through Evan, playing through Jaylon who has been phenomenal. There’s a lot of unpredictably. I think that’s something we have found. Now just continue to build upon it. We’re doing well, but can we be great?”
Wade continues to downplay his importance. He did again Saturday — even after scoring 10 points, hitting all four of his shots and making numerous clutch plays down the stretch, with Atkinson saying Wade pitched a “perfect game.”
“For me, it’s easy,” Wade said. “I just get out of their way and let them do their thing. I’m out there focusing on defense, trying to bring some energy, bring an edge, fly around and make the extra effort. Evan and J.A. make it stupid easy to be a good defender.”
Wade’s growth from undrafted two-way player — who shuttled between the Cavs and the G League’s Canton Charge — into rotational fixture and sometimes-starter, has made him a necessary piece of the Cleveland puzzle. Others see it too.
Over the last six months, no fewer than 10 teams have reached out and expressed interest. The calls have picked up ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline. But the Cavs continue to reject offers — even with him on an expiring contract that could lead to him leaving as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
They recognize his value and see his nightly impact. It’s becoming tougher to ignore.
“You get all the defense stuff and when he makes 3s, we’re a tough team to beat,” Atkinson said. “It’s great having an elite stopper who you can rely on in big moments.”