Shawn Marion to Join LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers

If you can’t beat them, join them. Shawn Marion is headed to the Cleveland Cavaliers to join LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and most likely, Kevin Love as the Ohio franchise continues their great 2014 offseason.

Marion, who played the last with the Dallas Mavericks for the last five years, is joining the title contenders out East after agreeing to a veteran’s minimum contract according to a report from Marc Stein of ESPN.

Despite the lower salary offer, Marion chose a Cavs squad over the likes of the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers, both of which have shown interest in the versatile forward and were pegged to offer more for the services of Marion.

The Pacers are looking for a legit starter at the small forward spot after losing Paul George to a horrific injury while the Clippers are hoping to add depth to their forward rotation.

Unlike both however, it is the Cavs which are considered one of the frontrunners to go all the way to the championship after their offseason haul that included the return of James to Cleveland and later in August, Love’s trade to the squad in exchange for top draft picks Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a future first round pick.

The-36-year-old Marion is entering his 16th NBA season and is expected to be the back-up for both forward positions. Cleveland already got their veteran shooters in Mike Miller and James Jones earlier in the offseason and Marion’s acquisition hopes to address their weakness on the defensive end. Marion averaged 10.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 31.7 minutes per game for the Mavericks in the 2013-2014 season.

Marion was originally drafted by the Phoenix Suns as the 9th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft. He also played for the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors sometime in his career. Marion was part of the Mavericks 2011 champion team which beat LeBron James’ Miami Heat in the NBA Finals that season.