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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been plenty busy this offseason trying to make a serious run at keeping the gang together. One player that will not return to the Cavs is Kendrick Perkins, who signed with the New Orleans Pelicans last week. Perkins played sparingly as a reserve last season averaging 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Cavaliers last season, and was a good tough guy that any team could want on their team. We take a look, however, at why the Cavs don’t need a guy like Perkins on their team.
1. The Cleveland Cavaliers Are Deep at PF And C
This was the case last year as well, which is why Perkins didn’t re-sign and the Cavs didn’t want to re-sign him. Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Timofey Mozgov all played big minutes in front of Kendrick Perkins, and that was without Anderson Varejao. Big Perk was nothing more than a locker room guy who was looking for a championship contending team. He likely won’t be missed on this Cavs team.
Click “next” to see the second reason why the Cavs don’t need a Perkins-like player!
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2. This Cavs Team Doesn’t Need An Enforcer
The Cleveland Cavaliers put up a lot of points per game last year. They have the best player in the world in LeBron James and the team’s style of play simply doesn’t warrant an enforcer. The Cavs don’t need to play an extremely physical game to win, which is part of why Perk didn’t play much last season. The Cleveland Cavaliers need to keep playing their style of basketball which is to let LeBron James be LeBron James and to let all of the other players get the right touches in the right spots. If they continue to buy into David Blatt’s system, this team will be just fine without a Perkins-like player.
Click “next” to see the final reason why the Cavs don’t need a Perkins-like player!
Jason Miller | Getty Images
3. Perkins Takes Up Important And Valuable Roster Spot
Let’s just be honest here: Kendrick Perkins was not much of a factor for the Cavaliers on the floor last season which is why he chose to go elsewhere. The Cavs want to be a legit 12-14 players deep come playoff time and at this point in his career, Perkins doesn’t offer too much upside to a Cavs team that is already deep at the frontcourt positions. If the Cavs played a different brand of basketball, then a Kendrick Perkins might have been needed. But they do not and this is the marvelous luxury of having LeBron James and two other All-Stars in the starting lineup. Let’s see what the Cavs do next year. The season should be fun.