NBA News: Cleveland Cavaliers Invites AJ Price To Training Camp Roster
The Cleveland Cavaliers are not done wheeling and dealing.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, a local newspaper, has announced that the team has invited potential back-up point guard AJ Price to training camp.One of the favourites to come out of the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers already has a plethora of bodies to test one week leading up to the start of camp. At point guard, Kyrie Irving will, without a doubt, gain the starting nod, barring some injuries.
The backup slot is open with three players contesting the spot. There's Australian Matthew Dellavedova who had somewhat of a successful year in the previous season. John Lucas III had some brief stints of respectable play in Chicago during the past few years, while Chris Crawford is an unproven commodity and would likely need more experience to gain meaningful playing time minutes. Now, add AJ Price to the mix.
The 27-year-old Price has already played for three teams during his five seasons in the NBA, three with the Indiana Pacers, one with both the Washington Wizards and the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played last for the Timberwolves last season but logged just 3.5 minutes per game and was cut some weeks prior to the end of the season.
Price can be decent if used properly. His previous stints showed that he has decent passing skills and defensive tendencies but his shooting leaves a lot to be desired given that the Cavaliers would need to stretch the floor for penetrating stars such as LeBron James and Irving. To make the team, Price would have to bump either Lucas II or Crawford and possibly become the team's third string ball handler. CBS Sports relays that the cavaliers are fuilly maxed out in the roster with 17 players already in tow and would have to cut two players before the season begins.
Below is possible depth chart of the Cavaliers prior to start of training camp:
PG: Kyrie Irving, Matthew Dellavadova, John Lucas III, AJ Price
SG: Dion Waiters, Chris Crawford, James Jones
SF: LeBron James, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion
PF: Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Lou Amundson
C: Anderson Varejao, Brendan Haywood