According to reports, the Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to sign Chris Andersen for a one-year deal. The team was able to secure the athlete after releasing one of its seldom-used players.
As noted by Fansided, the Cavs were able to get the free agent Andersen on Friday. It seems the move to sign the power forward was made to replace Timofey Mozgov, who left Cleveland after agreeing to join the Los Angeles Lakers for a four-year deal worth $64 million.
Based on stats alone, Mozgov certainly is more productive than Andersen, despite both athletes playing with the same minutes on the court. Still though, this doesn't mean that Andersen will not be as good as Mozgov once he plays for the Cavs.
Depending on various factors, including the lineup he will be playing in, Andersen could be a breakout star once he's in Cleveland. But, this doesn't mean that he will be included in the team's main lineup. He will most likely be a rotation player behind Channing Frye, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
It seems the Cavs believe this notion too since in order to get the tattooed player, they had to let go if Sasha Kaun. According to ESPN, Kaun was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the draft rights to Chukwudiebere Madaumbum.
Aside from getting the Nigerian athlete, the Cavs were also able to free up cap space to get Andersen. As part of the trade, the 76ers will also be covering the remaining $1.3 million guaranteed salary of Kaun, which is for the 2016-2017 season.
Through this deal, the Cavs were able to get a bit of leeway to sign Andersen. At this point, it seems Cleveland is doing whatever it can to strengthen its roster without stretching out its budget too much. After all, since they are the reigning NBA champions, the Cleveland is still looking to retain some of its superstars such as LeBron James and J.R. Smith. Aside from the players, the Cavs are also faced with the decision of extending the contract for coach Tyronn Lue.
