INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ The night of the Cavaliers' season opener, coach Tyronn Lue was given the chance to explain why he decided to start Dwyane Wade over J.R. Smith at shooting guard.
"I'm past that," was Lue's response as he elected to stick with his initial answer of "This is what I'm doing."
But Lue's about-face on Monday was enough to make one wonder if by Oct. 17 Lue already had doubts about how it would play out after he inserted 12-time All-Star Wade into a lineup that already included ball-dominant players LeBron James and Derrick Rose.
Asking the Cavs for patience on Thursday while he sorted out rotations and play-sets, Lue said Monday he was permanently returning Smith to the starting lineup and sending Wade to the bench. Wade approached Lue with the suggestion Sunday after he hit 7-of-25 from the field and averaged 5.7 points in the first three games.
"I've thought about it since I got here and it was something that I told myself I would look at as well if I felt there was a need," Wade said after practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. "I came here for one reason. I didn't come here to shoot 20 shots or average 20 points. I came here to be a part of winning and to bring what I can to this team, and I want to do that. I feel that my best opportunity to do that is in that unit."
With Rose sidelined with a sprained left ankle, Lue said Jose Calderon will continue to start at point guard. Rose, running the first unit until Isaiah Thomas returns from a torn labrum in his right hip, will be out for at least Tuesday's home game against the Bulls and Wednesday's road game against the Brooklyn Nets.
A three-time NBA champion, Wade has come off the bench for only 11 games in his 15-year career.
Lue announced on Oct. 9 that Wade would start over Smith, who had been the starting two-guard since his second game with the Cavs after being acquired from the New York Knicks in January 2015.
Wade, 35, said he'd talked to Lue about where he best belonged before he signed with the Cavs on Sept. 27 after receiving a buyout from the Chicago Bulls. Wade took a one-year, veteran's minimum contract to join James, a close friend.
"When me and coach talked when I was thinking about coming here, we talked about the unit, we talked about the team, with Isaiah being out, what the team was," Wade said. "We both talked about the opportunity for me to kind of lead the second group.
"But we also both talked about what I've always done my whole career is I've always started and that's what I know, so our goal was to see how it was. But I just decided, earlier than later, just to get to the unit where I'd be more comfortable and can probably better this team. Why wait? Three games in, why wait?"
Lue's admiration for Wade's decision was obvious. With Rose sidelined on Saturday in Orlando, Wade went 2-for-8 from the field for five points with four assists in 16 minutes of an ugly loss.
"I know he'd been a starter his whole career, so we wanted to try to start him and give him that nod," Lue said of Wade. "He came to me and said, 'You know what Coach? What you said was right. I'd be able to be featured more in the second unit and be able to handle the ball more, so let's make that move.'
"That's what professionals do. No ego. He saw it was best for the team for him to come off the bench. It was his call and here we are. For a future Hall of Famer and a guy that's won three NBA championships to come to the coach and see what's best for the team, that's big time."
James said Wade is "in a good place" with the switch. The Cavs have eight new players among their core group, which also includes Rose, Jae Crowder, Jeff Green, Thomas and Calderon.
"I think the first week was a long week for him just trying to adjust to a new system, adjust to what we're trying to do," James said of Wade. "And I don't think it's just him. He has the name, but a lot of guys are trying to adjust as well, all the new guys. We're trying to figure out how can we help these guys get acclimated as quickly as possible. But this is a marathon. And he knows it. Week 2 is going to be much better than Week 1 for all of us."
James said Wade won't be just the point guard in his new role.
"He'll do a little bit of both. He will have the ball in his hands to kind of initiate the offense," James said. "His ability to play-make and get guys involved and also get himself involved as well. But he's also a pure two-guard where he'll play off the ball somewhere and we can get him some post-ups, get him some run-outs. I think that's very key to his game, too.
"I've known him for a long time and him just getting an easy layup on the break or getting to the free-throw line early in the game kind of opens it up for him. We've got to do a better job of that and getting him some easy ones."
As the Cavs opened the season 2-1, Wade also averaged 3.3 assists in 23.7 minutes, but went to the line just twice.
"It's still going to be a process because now he has to learn different sets again," Lue said of Wade. "He thinks it's best. I think it's best. It was just great to have him come to me the way he did, so very big class act."
