Report: Cleveland Cavaliers are the frontrunners to sign Kendrick Perkins

The veteran center was recently traded to the Utah Jazz, and will have his contract bought out.

One of the underrated storyline during the feverish NBA trade deadline was the unloading of Kendrick Perkins and his massive contract by the Oklahoma City Thunder. A consummate fifth man in the Thunder’s lineup, Perkins was set to be paid over 9 million this year.

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The Thunder unloaded Perkins in the deal that saw them receive Enes Kanter from the Utah Jazz. But Perkins won’t remain on the Jazz.

From Yahoo Sports:

"Perkins and the Utah Jazz are proceeding on a contract buyout that could be completed as soon as Saturday, sources said.Perkins is leaning toward signing a deal with the [Cleveland] Cavaliers, but has yet to make a final commitment, sources said."

Both the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Clippers are also being considered as destinations for Perkins.

Depending on the offer, Perkins could potentially be a solid pickup for the Cavaliers. It has been a long time since Perkins was a starting quality big man, and even then he was limited as an offensive player. But off the bench Perkins can provide help for a competitive team.

Ever since starting center Anderson Varejao went down for the year with a torn Achilles, the Cavaliers have needed the presence of a quality screen setter and rebounder.

The issue is that Kendrick Perkins offers the Cavs with a non-factor in offensive production, and would limit the team’s ability to run the floor. Cleveland would like to get a lot of points based on fast-break offense, and Perkins’ limited mobility would force the Cavs to play half-court offense and defense.

The Oklahoma City Thunder also run a lot of half-court sets, but their scoring is mostly based on isolation with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The Clippers would need someone other than DeAndre Jordan to rebound and handle other big teams down low. The Bulls need depth everywhere with Tom Thibodeau running them to the ground.

The Cavaliers have had so much turnover that the team barely resembles the one they started the offseason with. Trades have seen the Cavaliers add J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, providing the team with much needed consistency at the wing that wasn’t going to be seen from Dion Waiters.

Now Perkins may give the Cavs some helpful work at the center position.

[H/T: Yahoo Sports]

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