Dwyane Wade, Cavs: How The Cavs Can Make A Wade Deal Work

Dwyane Wade, Cavs. This is NBA free agency, so why not? Twitter blew up with rumors that Wade was flying to Cleveland on the night of July 4 to meet with Cleveland Cavaliers wonder Dan Gilbert.

Could the Cavs being pulling the ultimate counter move to the news of the Golden State Warriors signing Kevin Durant.

LeBron James would team up with his old buddy Dwyane Wade, along with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to give the Cavs their own “Big 4.”

Let’s be clear. These are just rumors that took Twitter by storm as fireworks were lighting up the night sky.

But here’s a recap of what went down…

1. Joe Lull, a former radio host at 92.3 The Fan, is the man credited with breaking the news that Dan Gilbert was flying his plane to Miami to meet with LeBron James.

Well, Lull’s at it again, tracking this flight from an executive airport in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Burke Lakefront Airport, which is just minutes away from Quicken Loans Arena.

2. After Lull’s tweet, there was this really intriguing tweet, there was this: Was the company that owns the plane actually spilling that Wade, LeBron James and Dan Gilbert were going to meet?

3. But then in a cold dose of reality, there was this:

Hard to say when the video was actually shot, but if it was indeed shot on July 4, Wade would have to be faster at flying around the world than Superman.

4. While all the Wade talk is exciting, especially since the Cavs are in an all-out arms race with the Warriors for a probably Finals rematch next June, there is that little problem the Cavs still have of not having any money to pay any free agents.

But, and it’s a huuuuuge BUT, there are a couple of ways Wade comes to the north shore.

He can take a minimum contract, which will pay him $3.5 million next season. Considering he’s tired of playing for less money with the Heat, don’t count on Wade doing this, even if he’s tight with James.

The Cavs pay Wade more, but that means having to make some moves. He still wouldn’t be making what he could with the heat, but the Cavs can free up some space by dealing Kevin Love or Iman Shumpert, or renouncing James’ $29 million cap hold.

That means LeBron would take less money so that his friend could get paid, while the Cavs gear up for a title defense. This dynamic duo would be back together, chasing rings. But this time, the story would unfold in Cleveland, and not Miami.

If the Cavs renounce LBJ’s the Cavs would have around $9 million in cap space to sign LeBron and Wade.

There’s also a chance that James, who has that life-long Nike contract to fall back on, could opt to take the league minimum, which would free up more money to pay Wade, although that still wouldn’t be enough to top what Miami’s offering.

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The odds of Wade coming to Cleveland? I’d call it a long shot. But two years ago the Cavs were taking Andrew Wiggins No. 1 in the draft. Now, I have a weekly wardrobe of Cavaliers championship swag to wear around my home in southern Ohio.