The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an eventful tail end to the offseason, pulling off one of the biggest deals of the summer by dealing Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder. They also signed the likes of Derrick Rose, Jeff Green, and Jose Calderon, but their Training Camp roster is not complete yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers bring back former big man
On Thursday afternoon, the team announced that it has signed veteran Big Man Kendrick Perkins to a training camp deal. Perkins, 32, had been eager to return to the NBA after taking the year off.
The 13-year veteran played for the Cavaliers during the 2014-2015 NBA season, where he had the opportunity to play in the NBA Finals.
Perkins has to earn his spot on the team this time since his deal is not guaranteed. Looking at Cleveland’s roster, they are stacked with three centers already. Tristan Thompson will continue to be the starting center, while newly-acquired Ante Zizic will most likely become his backup. Lengthy big man Edy Tavares, who was injured most of last season, should be healthy this year and will assume the third string role. That leaves Perkins as the fourth center on the team, meaning he would have to work extremely hard to consume a spot on the team.
If the Cavaliers choose to keep Perkins, he could provide veteran leadership, championship experience, and defensive nastiness to the team.
The 32-year-old won a ring with the Celtics in 2008 and was a wonderful locker room player for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2011-2014. He last played for the New Orleans Pelicans, showing up in 37 games and earning five starts while averaging 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Breaking down Cleveland’s roster
The Cavaliers are slowly shaping out the roster.
They have excellent backcourt depth, with four legitimate point guards in Thomas, Rose, Calderon, and Kay Felder. They also shored up the two guard position with J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, and Iman Shumpert. Now that Crowder has joined the team, he will become LeBron James’ backup, giving them more wing depth. Richard Jefferson also sits deep on that bench.
Kevin Love, Jeff Green, and Channing Frye are expected to share minutes at the four spot, while the center position, as mentioned above, has four big men assuming it. The Cavaliers roster already has 15 guaranteed players, and the team would lose millions if they were to waive one of them, making Perkins’ quest to officially return to the NBA more difficult. The training camp roster currently stands at 19.
