Who will the Cavs start in place of Max Strus in the regular season opener?

While new coach Kenny Atkinson also considered Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro, the decision was officially made to use the 6-foot-9 Wade before Monday's practice.

Wade was in Strus' usual spot at the preseason finale and has been running with the starters since Saturday – the first practice in preparation for the Toronto Raptors. Those extra reps gave Atkinson a feel for what it might look like with Wade flanking Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

“It starts with his defense,” Atkinson said when asked Monday about the possibility of Wade starting. “You’ve got Dean, Jarrett and Evan, you’re good defensively straight away, so that’s the most important thing. Then he is offensively versatile. Obviously he can shoot the 3, but we use him more as a cutter. He reads the game really well and is really smart. He’s a good facilitator for this group.”

Earlier this week, Atkinson passed on naming Wade the starter. Atkinson even hinted that it could vary depending on the matchup and other lineup-related circumstances.

“We have great depth,” Atkinson explained. “A lot of teams could be affected by this, but we have some people who can step in and help us until Max gets back.

“The first thing everyone thinks is: What do the starters look like? What do these second rotations look like? What do the third rotations look like? This is an important part of the decision because we have to pay attention to balance. We can't have the starting lineup really strong and then have two lineups further back where we're weak. We have to find that balance – defensive and offensive balance.”

Strus is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks after suffering a sprained ankle during an individual practice session on Thursday. Since he was already dealing with a bruised right hip, this training session in Chicago was part of his rehab process – an attempt to get him at full strength for Wednesday's opener.