Cleveland Cavaliers sign Norvel Pelle via Exhibit 10 deal

The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly signed Norvel Pelle via Exhibit 10 contract.

The Cleveland Cavaliers 2020-21 season will begin on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets, so the squad is naturally making minor roster moves.

Cleveland reportedly waived Levi Randolph, Charles Matthews and prior two-way Matt Mooney on Saturday, which wasn’t suprising, really.

It was understandable for Cleveland to have converted Marques Bolden’s deal to a two-way one, per a report from The Athletic‘s Kelsey Russo, to an extent, from there.

Cleveland would then sign big Norvel Pelle shortly thereafter as well, per a team announcement also hitting on their waiving of those three, via Russo. From there, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported that signing was via Exhibit 10 deal.

Pelle was seemingly just a bit of insurance for the Cavs for the G League.

Pelle was again signed via Exhibit 10 deal, of which is mostly for them to control Pelle’s G League rights. These deals are are one-year deals worth the minimum salary, but they don’t have guarantees/protection, but can include, as noted by Hoops Rumors’ Luke Adams, an “optional bonus ranging from $5K to $50K.”

Moreover, for Pelle, for him to get that max $50K bonus, he has to agree to and remain with Cleveland’s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, “for 60 days,” as Adams hit on.

To be clear, Pelle won’t make the Cleveland Cavaliers roster heading into the 2020-21 season, per a further report from Fedor. Fedor said in his report that Pelle “will be waived later this evening,” so that the Wine and Gold won’t exceed the maximum roster limit of 15.

Pelle, for reference, played sparingly with the Philadelphia 76ers last season, and had 2.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 9.7 minutes per game in 2019-20. He appeared in only 24 outings.

Pelle, who was recently waived by the Sixers, has had prior stints in the G League, and showed at times he could be an energy big when given chances with Philly. He provided some rotational rim protection when he was out there, and in appearances with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philly’s G League affiliate, last season, most notably had 2.5 blocks per outing.

For the 27-year-old Pelle, who again will reportedly be waived by Cleveland later on this evening, per Fedor, he will feasibly have more opportunities with the Charge in the proposed G League bubble. In terms of reported details regarding that G League bubble, you can view those here.

Lastly, though, as a side note, Cleveland is set to keep Dean Wade and Thon Maker, albeit for now, per Fedor, considering Kevin Love and Larry Nance Jr. potentially being sidelined for Cleveland’s opener. Love’s dealing with a right calf strain, whereas Nance is in concussion protocol and has a sprained jaw.

Fedor would note in his report that the Cavaliers could keep both Wade and Maker heading into the season for depth, or could release one, which would leave the rostered players at 14, leaving one vacant.

We’ll ultimately keep on the look out for what the Wine and Gold choose to do.