Chris Andersen (Photo : Twitter)
The Cleveland Cavaliers are sitting at the top of the basketball world but it wasn't long until their throne got pulled from underneath.
The Golden State Warriors, the team that the Cavs beat in that historic seven-game NBA Finals, successfully recruited a top three player in Kevin Durant. While the Cavs are involved in numerous trade rumors, they are taking the champions' stance and staying put until further notice.
That doesn't bar them from making minor additions. Team site Fear The Sword reported that they have addressed their need at center with Chris "Birdman" Andersen as they are now "close to a deal."
Most would recall Andersen as LeBron James' teammate with the Miami Heat. He played some quality minutes for the squad as well as some key defensive plays. That's probably the role that he will play for the Cavs. Andersen is now 38 years old and he would back up the bigs on the roster-currently Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and Channing Frye, none of which are legitimate centers.
While Andersen is close to a deal expected to be at the veteran's minimum, at the other end of the spectrum, Cleveland's highest paid player has yet to sign the dotted line.
LeBron James has yet to give the Cavaliers a solid timetable on when he plans to sign with the team, nor has he discussed the length of his contract, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.
"LeBron James has yet to notify the Cleveland Cavaliers when he intends to re-sign," Haynes reported. "Team officials have reached out to the camp of James for an answer to no avail, sources say. However, there are some officials within the organization who don't view the situation as a concern."
There are some speculative reasons for this delay. One of the possible reasons is that teammate JR Smith has yet to reach an agreement. Smith recently transferred to agent Rich Paul and James' wing and James has been known to be supportive of his "stable mates."
Another angle is that the salary cap projection was recently lowered to $102 million instead of the anticipated $107-110 million. With this development, it may no longer be beneficial for max free agents to sign the "1+1 deal" that makes them free agents again next season.
If the salary cap increase is not that significant, the 20% increases of the contracts can cover the difference, so the players could just sign the long-term contracts right away.
The bottom line, as Haynes said, "James will eventually put the pen to the paper."
