Cleveland Cavaliers waive DeAndre Liggins

The Cleveland Cavaliers waived DeAndre Liggins, opening up a spot for someone to contribute for the playoffs.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived guard DeAndre Liggins and are looking to add a playoff eligible player by Wednesday’s deadline. While they are rumored to have an interest in former Cavs Dahntay Jones and Anderson Varejao, it’s more likely that they will add a player who has recently played in the NBA or overseas. With the injury to starting center Tristan Thompson and Larry Sanders not yet ready to contribute, Cleveland is currently short on big men. Let’s take a look at four options who could help the Cavs in the post-season.

4. Josh Smith

After playing for the Houston Rockets last season, Josh Smith signed a three-month, $1.5 million dollar contract with the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association. In 26 games he averaged 18.8 points and 10.6 rebounds. Smith left the team in January to pursue and NBA job. The biggest knock on Smith in his NBA career has shot too many 3’s as this is not his game. For him to be a contributor on a Championship contender like Cleveland he must spend his time in the post rebounding and protecting the rim, something the Cavaliers severely lack this season.

3. Terrence Jones

Jones was waived by the New Orleans Pelicans on Feb. 23 after the team acquired Demarcus Cousins.  Jones had become a productive bench player averaging 11.5 points and six rebounds a game backing up Anthony Davis. He signed with the Milwaukee Bucks on March 4 but only appeared briefly in three games and was waived by the Bucks on April 1. Jones would help the Cavaliers in the post along with providing some rim protection as he has averaged 1.2 blocks per game in his NBA career. He is another power forward similar to Smith who tends to fall in love with the three ball at times.

2. Jared Sullinger

Jared Sullinger got off to a rough start with the Toronto Raptors after signing with the team in July of 2016. On Oct. 24 he had a screw inserted into the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and didn’t make his season debut until Jan. 18. He bounced back and forth between the Raptors and their D-League affiliate Raptors 905 a few times. He was eventually traded to Phoenix for P.J. Tucker on February 23rd and waived the following day by the Suns. Sullinger would not help Cleveland as a rim protector but can be effective with his back to the basket and provide a more physical presence in the post. The biggest question is can he stay healthy enough to be effective and be an asset in the post season?

1. Eric Moreland

Eric Moreland just completed and impressive season with the Cavaliers D-League affiliate the Canton Charge. In 44 games at Canton, he averaged 12.8 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots per game. He was named an Eastern Conference All-star for the 2017 D-League All-star game. Moreland is a pure post player and could help the Cavaliers more on the defensive end with his shot-blocking and rebounding ability. Of course, the main issue with Moreland is he played this season in the D-League and has very limited NBA experience having played only 11 NBA games over two seasons with the Sacramento Kings.

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Whomever Cleveland decides to sign will not have much time to get acclimated to the team and their system as the end of the regular season is April 12. However with the Cavs current big man situation, whoever is brought in will have a chance to earn minutes in the post-season.