DHJ Quick Take: Dean Wade Joins 76ers on Four-Year, $39 Million Deal
Free agent forward Dean Wade agreed to a four-year, $39 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, reuniting with president of basketball operations Mike Gansey after seven seasons in Cleveland.
- What did Dean Wade agree to? A four-year, $39 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal.
- Who drove Philadelphia’s pursuit? New president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, a longtime fan who helped bring Wade to Cleveland as an undrafted free agent in 2019.
- Why does it matter? Philadelphia adds a switchable 36.2% 3-point shooter to a thin forward group, while Cleveland loses a homegrown rotation piece it hoped to keep.
- What’s next? Wade can officially sign July 6, once the NBA’s free agency moratorium lifts.
Dean Wade is headed to Philadelphia. The free agent forward agreed to a four-year, $39 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday as free agency opened, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal, ending seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and landing the multi-year raise his camp had been seeking.
The deal is a significant raise for Wade, who spent the past three seasons on an $18.5 million contract worth about $6.2 million a year. The new terms push him closer to $9.75 million annually, with guaranteed money and length attached.
It also reunites Wade with an executive who has followed him from the start. Mike Gansey, hired late last month as Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, helped bring Wade to Cleveland as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State in 2019, when Gansey was working his way up the Cavaliers’ front office. Wade drew broad interest around the league heading into free agency, but he held a particular admirer in Gansey, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal, and that connection paid off once the market opened.
Mike Gansey Bets on a Familiar Face
Gansey took over Philadelphia’s basketball operations after the team parted with Daryl Morey, inheriting a roster thin on the wing and short on cost-controlled shooting. Wade fits the need. He is a career 36.7% shooter from 3-point range who can defend multiple positions, the kind of low-maintenance forward who plays cleanly alongside Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Joel Embiid, and Paul George.
Wade averaged 5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists last season while shooting 43.9% from the field and 36.2% from 3-point range. His value lies in switchable defense and floor spacing that let Cleveland’s stars operate, and Gansey is betting that carries over to Philadelphia.
Cleveland Wanted Him Back
Cleveland shared a mutual interest in a new deal with Wade ahead of free agency, sources said. However, Wade’s camp had been hoping to land near the mid-level exception.
With Gansey driving the pursuit and a clear need at forward, the 76ers prioritized getting a deal done quickly. Cleveland loses a homegrown rotation piece it had hoped to keep, and Gansey adds one he has valued since before Wade signed his first NBA contract.
More NBA Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- Sources: Kawhi Leonard Traded To Toronto Raptors As Los Angeles Clippers Land Brandon Ingram, Draft Capital
- Sources: Indiana Pacers Hold Strong Interest In Free Agent Kelly Oubre Jr.
- Sources: Brooklyn Nets Have Interest In Free Agent Moritz Wagner
- Sources: Jock Landale Returning to Atlanta Hawks On $14 Million Deal
- Sources: Robert Williams III To Re-Sign With Portland Trail Blazers On Multi-Year Deal
- Sources: Luke Kennard Drawing Strong Interest From Phoenix Suns
- Sources: Golden State Warriors Prefer Signing LeBron James Without Trading For Anthony Davis
- Sources: Houston Rockets Favorites To Sign Marcus Smart In Free Agency
- Sources: Gary Trent Jr. Trending Toward Multi-Year Deal With Milwaukee Bucks
- Sources: Los Angeles Lakers Among Teams Targeting Sandro Mamukelashvili In Free Agency
- Sources: Toronto Raptors Favored To Land Kawhi Leonard, Dallas Mavericks Unlikely
- Sources: Chicago Bulls Emerging As Suitor To Watch For Normal Powell
- Sources: Miami Heat Monitoring Tim Hardaway Jr. Among Free Agent Targets
