The Cleveland Cavaliers made their final cuts of the preseason on Saturday, with veteran center Kendrick Perkins and recent signee Isaac Hamilton being released. The moves were made in order to get the team down to the 15-man roster that will begin the regular season on Tuesday night.
The 32-year-old Perkins was attempting a comeback after sitting out last season, having previously donned a Cavaliers uniform during the 2014-15 campaign. He was signed to a free agent contract by the Cavs on Sept. 25 and in his three preseason contests, saw 35 minutes of action and scored 12 points while hauling down 11 rebounds.
While Perkins received his release as a player, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com noted that the Cavaliers are interested in having him join the team’s coaching staff, with Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue offering the reason behind the offer:
“We’ve already talked about that,” Lue said. “I think Perk was great because he holds everybody accountable. He plays the right way, tries to do the right thing every single day.
“You need a guy like that around. A guy who’s going to be the right person for the team, not worrying about himself, not being caught up in all his own personal things and will help the team out in any way he can.”
Perkins is still interested in playing, but will consider the offer if no other team indicates an interest in signing him.
“I definitely want to coach when I hang them up,” Perkins said. “Right now my mind is on trying to play. Not only can I be a voice in the locker room, but I feel I can go out and contribute 8-to-12 minutes a night.
“But me and Lue go way back and that’s definitely something I’ll take under consideration.”
Hamilton was signed just three days ago, seeing no action on the court during his brief time with the team.
The Cavaliers will begin the effort to reach their fourth straight NBA Finals when they host the Boston Celtics in the Tuesday night season-opener for both teams. Tipoff for that game will be just after 8 p.m. ET, with the game being nationally broadcast by TNT.
