Jaylen Brown is here, the splashiest acquisition in a very splashy Sixers offseason orchestrated by new personnel chief Mike Gansey.
Anfernee Simons, a willing and much-needed bench scorer, is also here. Same for Ariel Hukporti, an intriguing big man coming off a title run with the Knicks.
Hey, and LeBron James might end up here, too. Never say never, right?
Against that backdrop, Dean Wade has fairly tiptoed into town, lunchpail in hand and valuable toolkit in his back pocket.
Signed to a reported four-year,
$39 million free-agent contract, Wade is the ultimate 3-and-D guy, a sturdily built 6-foot-9 forward who can make open triples and guard all five positions. Whether he starts, or (in the event of a LeBron signing) comes off the bench, those are two very useful skills to possess.
And two things that might escape notice, given everything else that is going on. Or might go on, in the weeks and months ahead.
During a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday, he called defense “a thankless job,” and that is inarguable. Nobody in the Association wants to crouch in a stance, hike up their shorts and joust with the breathtakingly skilled guys headed their way. But Wade, an undrafted free agent signed out of Kansas State by Cleveland in 2019 (where Gansey was an executive at the time), discovered early on that that was his ticket to playing time.
Never mind that Wade had been a scorer in college. Never mind, he said, that he was “never really known as a defender” at that point in his career. He learned to become one. And he has learned to like it.
“I think the most appealing part of defense is … when people iso one on one,” he said. “It is head-up – just who’s better, and I’ve got to play with that little chip on my shoulder. I love that competitive spirit, where it’s just whose will’s going to kind of outlast whose.”
By his second season he was getting regular time, and that remained the case during the duration of his seven-year stay in Cleveland. He averaged a modest 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds over that time, but shot nearly 37 percent from three and just generally proved to be a useful piece to the puzzle.
Along the way he crossed paths with former Sixer Georges Niang, a Cavalier in 2023-24 and part of 2024-25. And Niang – “maybe the funniest human I’ve ever met,” Wade said – told him a little something about Philadelphia. How, yes, the town’s athletic supporters can be tough, but are ultimately, “the best fans in the world, as long as you’re playing the right way.”
Suffice it to say that Wade will endeavor to do just that, while continuing to keep a low profile – something that comes naturally to him.
He hails from the farming community of St. John, Kansas (pop. 1,200). His dad, Jay, played football at Kansas State and Western Illinois, while his mom, Trish, played basketball and volleyball at Barton Community College and Florida Southern.
She would later win three state championships in 17 seasons as the volleyball coach at St. John-Hudson, while coaching her daughter Teresa, among others. (Trish, who also coached track at her children’s alma mater, now heads the volleyball squad at Nickerson High School.)
So it’s not hard to see where Dean got his athletic ability. Also his competitiveness.
“When I was younger, I hated losing,” he said. “I was the worst loser – like, my parents would beat me in a card game, and I would lose my mind.”
One of the fringe benefits to having a mom in coaching is that she had the key to the high school gym, which according to Dean was just two doors down from the family home.
“I lived in the gym,” he said.
He would ultimately lead his school to three state championships. Still, pro basketball seemed a long way off.
“Even thinking about the NBA when I was growing up was never a real thought in my mind,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a cool dream, but I never really thought I would have the opportunity to play.’”
But he never felt overmatched in AAU competition, and his family fostered his dream.
“Especially my sister,” he said. “She kicked that self-doubt right out of me before I could.”
Kansas State would ultimately unearth him, and he became a two-time All-Big 12 performer while averaging 12 points a game on .498/.386/.711 shooting over four seasons. And before he knew it, the NBA became a distinct possibility.
“Even when I was (on) a two-way (contract as a rookie),” he said, “I was like, ‘Man, I feel like I could still play in this league – compete at the highest level in this league.’ I never had any doubt in my mind.”
Not by then. And not anymore. Now he comes sneaking into town, carrying a mindset and a skillset that could prove very useful. And never mind that nobody else might notice.
