Cleveland Cavaliers Interested In Josh Childress?

The NBA journeyman has played in Australia over the last couple of seasons but sources say the Cleveland Cavaliers could be interested in attaining Josh Childress’ services.

With an open roster spot, Cavaliers GM David Griffin will be keeping close tabs on which veterans will be brought out over the next couple of days. Joe Johnson has been a name linked with the Cavs for a long period of time but now another NBA veteran could be on Cleveland’s radar.

According to Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia, Childress, who has played for the Sydney Kings in Australia’s National Basketball League over the last couple of seasons, could be gauging some interest from the Cavaliers. Uluc also reports that Childress will be playing in the D-League but that doesn’t mean NBA teams can’t sign the 32-year old.

"SYDNEY Kings star Josh Childress, who had an impressive 2015-16 NBL season — despite numerous injuries — will head to the NBA D-League, next week, a source confirmed to foxsports.com.au.The 32-year-old averaged 21 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, as the Kings finished at the bottom of the NBL ladder with a lowly 6-22 record.As per the NBA D-League free agency process, Childress will enter the rotation waiver system, with the hopes of being picked up by a team. The expectation is that he’ll be picked up relatively quickly.Several NBA teams have also expressed interest in the veteran wing, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz, among those teams, a source said."

Living in Australia, I’ve watched a lot of Childress over the past two years and must admit that he would be quite a questionable fit in Cleveland.

First things first, Childress has had a slew of injury problems since coming to Australia, which Uluc alluded to. He managed to suit up in 18 games for the Kings last season (the NBL season consists of 28 games), where he averaged 21 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. This season, Childress played in just 13 games, with his production remaining at the same level.

Childress’ play in the NBL has been excellent when he has been healthy though. In a league that is improving year-by-year, Childress was able to provide a young Sydney team with a veteran presence and leader in the locker-room. Unfortantely, many will remember his stint in the NBL for this infamous elbow.

So, how would Childress fit in Cleveland?

Initially, the Cavs would need to decide if they would want Childress to play as a back up to LeBron James or as a stretch-four.

Richard Jefferson has been average in his role of backing up James this season and Childress would bring greater athleticism, height and length to the Cavaliers bench. Childress is a good enough defender to not be a liability and he shot 46% from downtown with the Kings this season, so he would be able to stretch the floor. In Childress’ eight seasons in the NBA though, he shot just 32.9% and the NBL has a shorter three-point line than the NBA, so take that shooting percentage with a grain of salt.

As a stretch four, Childress may be able to help the Cavaliers chances against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors force teams to play small, deeming Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao almost impossible to put on the court against them.

Childress, provided his three-point shot is reliable enough, could slid into the four spot for 5-10 minute spurts and provide Cleveland with some floor spacing and defensive toughness.

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Overall, it is an intriguing prospect. Childress would give the Cavs another veteran voice, some toughness and an increase in athleticism, scoring and defense off the bench. His role wouldn’t be drastic- one can’t imagine him playing greater than 10-12 minutes a night. He has had multiple injury concerns in the NBL, so the conditioning would be another question mark next to his name.

Cleveland’s primary focus should be on attaining Frye from Orlando (as I broke down here) but if all else fails, Childress wouldn’t be the worse last resort.