It’s all good times these days in Cleveland. They’re winners of nine straight games, playing one of the league’s worst teams on Thursday looking for their 10th and they’re getting healthier.

Throughout their recent stretch of success, one of the constants has been the steady play of their bench, which has been led by Dwyane Wade. While Wade’s individual advanced statistics aren’t that special, the eye test and the team’s performance on the court indicate he’s leading one of the NBA’s best second units.

But it wasn’t all so good earlier this month. The Cavs started 4-6 and went through transitioning Wade to the bench, something he’d only done for 10 games in his career before this season.

And when the Cavaliers brought him in, it didn’t exactly go over well with Cavaliers who’re not named LeBron James, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.

“There was a couple guys with it,” James said. “But it wasn’t a lot.”

The fact Wade wasn’t openly embraced bothered James.

“I still know what he’s capable of doing. Why wouldn’t you want another guy in the locker room that brings a championship mentality and a guy who can still play?” James said. “So, of course, it bothered me, but f*** it. It is what it is.”

There were reports that Wade’s arrival had created some friction just before the season. But this is the first time that James has really addressed the schism that it created within the Cavs locker room.

As Lloyd reports in the piece, Richard Jefferson was arguably the most popular player on the team. And the arrival of Wade meant Jefferson had to go. James, aware as he usually is, knew that it wasn’t going over well. But he didn’t care. And James has been vindicated for seeing it through.

It was unpopular at the time, but the results make it hard to characterize the addition of Wade as anything but a success.

The Cavaliers are outscoring teams by 12.4 points per 100 possessions when Wade shares the floor with Kyle Korver, Jeff Green and Channing Frye according to NBA.com.

Wade has also been a fixture of Cleveland’s closing lineups throughout the streak. Wade has a team-best plus-minus in clutch situations at +35 when games are within five points in the final five minutes, according to NBA.com. The Cavaliers are 6-1 in the clutch when Wade plays.

Cleveland faces off against the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 P.M. Thursday night.