Cleveland Cavaliers have made a lot of moves recently and they no longer have an open spot on their stacked roster. At the moment, the reigning Eastern Conference champions have 20 players on the roster, which means they will have to waive a few players before the regular season starts. The Cavaliers have less than a week to figure out who they will keep on the team as the regular season starts on October 17 against the Boston Celtics.
Fortunately for Cleveland, they won't have to cut five players as it was the case before. New NBA rules allow teams to have 17 players on their roster.
The rules state that 15 players on an NBA team can have regular contracts while two of them will have two-way contracts. Players signed to two-way contracts will spend most of their time playing in the NBA G League, but they are allowed to spend up to 45 days with their NBA team. These contracts will help the G League gain more popularity, while they will also allow NBA teams to use extra players when needed.
Cavaliers might cut a veteran player
Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot of players who could be sent to the G League, but they will most likely waive them to have more roster spots open. Even though they have 20 players on the roster, only 12 or 13 of those players are safe and won't be waived.
Everyone else is in danger of getting cut, and that is what could easily happen.
The Cavaliers recently signed Isaac Hamilton, but they will most likely let him go. Beside Hamilton, John Holland, Kendrick Perkins and Kay Felder will probably be waived as well. However, Cleveland might also make a surprising move and waive their veteran forward Richard Jefferson.
Windy: "There is a decent chance that Richard is going to be let go..." WOW
— Aaron Goldhammer (@HammerNation19) October 12, 2017
Jefferson is a valuable and an experienced veteran, but he won't get a lot of minutes next season. He even intended to retire this summer, but he decided to stay in the league for one more year and try to win another championship ring.
Jefferson definitely has more impact off the court than on it, but this upcoming season, Cleveland may need more on-court performance, and that is the reason why he might be waived.
Regular season is close
Cleveland Cavaliers have only one preseason game left as they will face off against the Orlando Magic Friday night. After it, they will have a four-day break before their regular season starts.
The Cavaliers will open their season against the Boston Celtics at home on October 17. This will be a very interesting game as they will play against their former player Kyrie Irving.
