Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Dwyane Wade was reportedly the first Cleveland Cavaliers player who pressed head coach Tyronn Lue for answers after Kevin Love left the team's 148-124 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 20 with an illness and did not show up to practice the next day.

According to Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, Wade "first made an issue of it at practice Monday, challenging Lue to disclose where Love had been."

The quest to determine Love's whereabouts sparked a "fiery team meeting" during which "several players challenged the legitimacy" of Love's illness, according to ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski.



The New York Daily News' Frank Isola added former Cavaliers point guard Isaiah Thomas "led the charge against Love." Vardon confirmed Thomas was "upset" but noted Wade was the first to raise the issue.

Cleveland eventually traded Wade (to the Miami Heat) and Thomas (to the Los Angeles Lakers) in separate deadline deals as general manager Koby Altman radically reshaped the team's roster following a turmoil-laden January.

The Cavaliers are 3-0 since they acquired Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood, George Hill and Larry Nance Jr. at the trade deadline and have won four straight dating back to Feb. 7.

Following the All-Star break, the defending Eastern Conference champions will look to continue their surge when they return to the floor Feb. 22 for a showdown against the Washington Wizards on TNT.