In a sort of stunning development, the Cleveland Cavaliers, with just three games left in the regular season, have opted to waive guard DeAndre Liggins and open up a roster spot before the start of the postseason.
The news was first reported by Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon. Vardon adds that forward/center Anderson Varejao is among the names being considered as a replacement for Liggins.
Liggins played in 61 games for the Cavaliers, and even started 19 games when the Cavs were dealing with injuries earlier in the season. The little-used Liggins averaged 2.4 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in just 12.3 minutes per game.
Liggins made the trip to Atlanta for the Cavs’ road matchup against the Hawks on Sunday afternoon. That’s where he was notified of the Cavs’ plans to release him. Head coach Tyronn Lue spoke about Liggins following his release.
“Liggs gave us a lot,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I think when J.R. (Smith) went down we inserted him into the starting lineup to change our defense to get Kyrie off the ball and to pick up full court, be aggressive defensively — he was really good for us. Hopefully he gets a chance to go somewhere else and get an opportunity to play.”
The Cavs are reportedly not eyeing a wing player since that’s their deepest position. Another big man could be added to the mix, even more so depending on the seriousness of Tristan Thompson’s thumb injury.