Former Cavs find new homes quickly
Three players who were Cleveland Cavaliers last week have found a new home.
Last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers waived Kendrick Perkins and Isaac Hamilton while trading Kay Felder and Richard Jefferson to the Atlanta Hawks in order to trim the regular season roster down to the maximum of 15 players. The Hawks then waived Felder and Jefferson.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Perkins has joined the Canton Charge (the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA G-League affiliate) as he attempts to make his NBA comeback. The 32-year-old center has been offered a spot on the Cleveland Cavaliers coaching staff, according to Joe Vardon of cleveland.com, but wants to contribute to a professional ball club on the floor first. Perkins, who last played in the 2015-2016 season, says he can contribute 8-12 minutes per night.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, it’s been said that Perkins’ physique and game resemble what they were in his early days with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"“A Cavs source tells ESPN that Kendrick Perkins’ “weight and game look like his early OKC days” as CLE’s G-League affiliate, the Canton Charge, signed Perkins on Monday. The Cavs believe Perkins can be a hybrid player/teacher for a team this season, in the mold of Nazr Mohammed, Nick Collison and Elton Brand.”"
Perkins played for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2014-2015 season, largely signed in order to play the “enforcer” role for the Cavs during the postseason. Opposing teams seem to have a habit of dealing unnecessarily physical blows to James in the playoffs in an effort to throw him off, or take him out, or the game. Obviously, that’s not something the Cavs can – or do – take lightly. Last season, guys like Tristan Thompson became barkers. This season, though soft-spoken when talking to reports, the tough and passionate Jae Crowder may take the reins as the Cleveland Cavaliers enforcer.
Wojnarowski also reports that Jefferson reached a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets. Jefferson comes to a Denver Nuggets team where he should be expected to provide solid depth behind Wilson Chandler and Will Barton at the small forward position. In addition, Jefferson’s experience (16 seasons), maturity, championship pedigree and basketball IQ will come in handy on a team with nine players who are 26-years-old or younger and that hasn’t had a playoff appearance (or winning season) since the 2012-2013 season.
Jefferson was a beloved player in his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, both by the organization and the fans.
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According to The Vertical’s Shams Charania, Felder was claimed off of free agency waivers by the rebuilding Chicago Bulls. Felder will play behind Jerian Grant and Kris Dunn on the Bulls’ regular season roster but with Dunn out with a dislocated finger, Felder will likely start the season as the third (or second) point guard behind Grant and Ryan Arcidiacono. Arcidiacono is one of the Bulls’ two-way players. The Bulls may have claimed Felder off of waivers because they see a bit of Nate Robinson in him. Robinson averaged 13.1 points, 4.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 40.5 percent from three-point range and playing in all 82 games for the Bulls in his lone season with the club.
Like Robinson, Felder is an explosive athlete, nifty ball-handler, solid facilitator and a volume scorer who is undersized for his position at 5-foot-9. Although he didn’t get much run with the Cavs in the regular season in his rookie year, Felder averaged 29.9 points and 6.0 assists per game for the Charge after averaging 24.4 points and 9.3 assists per game in his senior season at Oakland University. Unlike Robinson, Felder has yet to build a reputation as an immature player and is unlikely to do so.
Of all the former Cavs who latched onto new teams this week, Felder has the best chance of playing regularly and making a significant impact.
Hamilton has yet to reach a deal with an NBA club or a G-League affiliate but when he was signed to a training camp deal, the prevailing thought was that the Cleveland Cavaliers made the move in order to secure his G-League rights. However, the Cleveland Cavaliers still have a roster spot left for a two-way contract. Hamilton is a pure shooter and on a team lacking three-point specialists, his services could be useful from time to time on a two-way contract.
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*All stats gathered from www.basketball-reference.com