The Cleveland Cavaliers’ final roster cut will not be revealed until the final day of training camp, but veteran NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN is already dropping hints on which player the Cavs will be keeping on their roster.
During his appearance on ESPN “The Jump,” Wojnarowski disclosed tidbits of information about the battle between veteran wingman Richard Jefferson and point guard Jose Calderon for the Cavs’ final roster spot. Jefferson might have been the vocal leader in the Cavs’ locker room in the past two seasons, but Cleveland is apparently leaning towards giving Calderon the final roster spot.
Bye, bye, Jefferson?
Wojnarowski added that the Cavs are attempting to trade Jefferson, who will earn $2.5 million for the 2017-18 NBA season. If Cleveland is unable to find a new home for the veteran, Wojnarowski assured Jefferson will be waived.
“They made calls about Richard Jefferson, trying to find a taker somewhere in the league. If they can’t get Jefferson off in a trade, which is very unlikely because there isn’t a lot roster spot available in the league, Jefferson could be the guy they have to waive,” Woj said.
Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com also backed up Woj’s claim, stating the Cavs may not cut ties with Calderon whom they just signed to a veteran minimum deal last July. However, contrary to Woj’s view, he thinks Cleveland can easily find a taker for the serviceable wingman since there are 11 teams with remaining trade exceptions.
After playing a key role off the bench the past two years, Jefferson has been used sparingly in preseason games primarily because of a log-jam at the small forward spot. Dwayne Wade’s arrival also made things tougher for him to make the final roster.
As for Calderon, the Spanish playmaker is getting significant playing time behind Derrick Rose.
Isaiah Thomas’ injury made Calderon more valuable than Jefferson because the Cavs don’t have much point guard depth right now.
Fixture on the bench
Channing Frye is expected to spend most of the Cavs’ games on the bench with Jae Crowder and Jeff Green eating major minutes at the power forward position. Frye, who arrived in Cleveland two years ago in a mid-season trade with the Orlando Magic, has no qualms about his new role with the Cavs.
“That’s the type of vet you want around. Unbelievable character guy. He understands it’s a long season. There’s going to be opportunities,” said Lue, who also revealed on Sunday that Wade will open the 2017-18 NBA season in the starting lineup.
