Dean Wade leaves Cavs, agrees to four-year deal with Sixers

The Cavaliers are losing one of their longest-tenured role players.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, free-agent forward Dean Wade has agreed to a four-year, $39 million contract with the 76ers.

Wade had drawn interest from several contenders after free agency opened, with Philadelphia consistently viewed as one of the favorites.

As Hoops Wire previously reported, the Cavs hoped to retain Wade but also faced difficult salary-cap decisions while attempting to remain below the NBA’s second tax apron.

Philadelphia’s pursuit also comes with a familiar connection.

New Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey spent the previous 15 years in the Cavs organization, rising to general manager before taking over Philadelphia’s front office earlier this summer. Gansey was part of the Cleveland group that signed Wade after he went undrafted out of Kansas State in 2019.

Wade spent all seven of his NBA seasons with the Cavaliers, developing into one of the league’s more versatile defensive forwards while shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range for his career.

Though never a high-volume scorer, Wade became a trusted piece of Cleveland’s rotation because of his ability to defend multiple positions, make timely three-pointers and do much of the game’s dirty work.

Now he’ll reunite with a familiar executive in Philadelphia after landing the biggest contract of his NBA career.