Cavs request waivers for 3 players, convert Marques Bolden’s deal to two-way

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly requested waivers for three players on Saturday and converted Marques Bolden’s contract to a two-way deal.

The Cleveland Cavaliers wrapped up their preseason on Friday at the New York Knicks, which was a rough loss, albeit there were so many players out.

For the Wine and Gold, though, it’s exciting that the 2020-21 regular season is almost here, as the Cavs open that versus the Charlotte Hornets on next Wednesday, Dec. 23. That should be a fun matchup, and fans will get a look at promising playmaker LaMelo Ball, who has made things happen in preseason for Charlotte.

In any case, following the preseason slate for Cleveland, the Cavs were set to solidify the roster heading into Opening Night.

Cleveland had the max of 20 players rostered for training camp/preseason, albeit the roster max in regular season action is 15. Or Cleveland could potentially roll with 14 players for roster flexibility, and according to a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, it seems as though that will likely play out.

Anyway, as was expected, the Cavs reportedly requested waivers for three players, none of which were suprising moves. That was the case in regards to Levi Randolph and Charles Matthews, and prior two-way Matt Mooney. The Athletic‘s Kelsey Russo shortly thereafter reported that the Cavs converted the contract of Marques Bolden, a prior Exhibit 10 signing, via two-way deal.

None of those Cavs requested waiver moves were a shock, but converting Bolden to a two-way is logical.

Cleveland waiving Randolph, Matthews and Mooney wasn’t at all a shocker, as in terms of natural 2’s in Randolph and Matthews, Cleveland has the likes of Collin Sexton, their 2019-20 leading scorer with 20.8 points per game, Kevin Porter Jr. and Damyean Dotson rostered. And Dylan Windler would seem likely to get some burn at the 2 spot, too.

Sexton and Porter, whose status for the Cavs Opener is reportedly uncertain, but has his legal matters seemingly behind him, should looking at next season, have a considerable share of burn in the backcourt. One could also foresee Porter getting some run at the 1, too, as him having an assist rate of 14.7 percent as a rookie was notable.

Anyway, it’s nice for these players that they could feasibly participate in the G League’s proposed bubble.

In terms of the location, Forbes‘ Adam Zagoria reported that it may not happen in Atlanta due to the logistical aspect. From there, he reported how a call is slated for next week so a decision can be closer to being made.

Albeit ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that while Orlando could be a potential G League bubble location, Atlanta is the “frontrunner,” currently.

The G League season, should it play out, is set to be shorter, though, than the normal 50-game one. The league, per McMenamin, expects the season to be from January through March and he’s hearing around 14-20 teams would seem to be likely to be the target number.

And for what it’s worth, the New York Post‘s Marc Berman gets the sense that it will start around Jan. 10.

Those players would appear set for G League assignment for the Canton Charge potentially or another G League squad, say one/the three are potentially claimed.

In regards to Bolden, converting his deal to a two-way, as was reported by Russo, was a logical one, given that he could be a decent spot minutes/developmental center.

Nonetheless, when considering Randolph, Matthews and Mooney, it again will be productive for them to be able to get burn in the G League, seemingly. And for the past two seasons, Randolph has proven to be a quality shooter and ball mover for Canton. He had 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.2 steals per outing last season with the Charge (the Cavs G League affiliate).

Bolden, meanwhile, as has been the case in preseason, has been a good screener and finisher for the Charge, and defensively, has generally been in the right position in the team sense on the interior. He had 9.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per outing in 2019-20 with Canton, and I think defensively, he often played vertically well in preseason.

Matthews, who proved to be a solid slasher/driver at Michigan, is a cool story, meanwhile, and could perhaps have an NBA future at some point if he can further develop his jumper, really. But he is a quality defensive player perhaps to have with the Charge, and after a tough bout of luck with his prior ACL tear during the 2019 draft process, his resilience has been admirable.

Albeit overall, the Cleveland Cavaliers requesting waivers for Randolph, Matthews and Mooney was not surprising at all. In the rolling/screening/rim protection sense, too, converting Bolden’s deal to a two-way contract was a sensible move.

We’ll ultimately see what happens regarding the potential G League season seemingly soon, though, of which each of those training camp players for Cleveland would appear set to play in.