Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers have decided to part ways with A.J. Price to make room for new point guard Will Cherry. Now with a full roster, it seems as if Ray Allen will not be wearing a Cavaliers uniform this season.
Earlier today, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to officially sign Will Cherry to the 15th and final roster spot. Terms of the salary were not released but due to the Cavaliers cap restraints it is likely that he received no more than the minimum salary. Cherry played in 18 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Development League team the Canton Charge averaging 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.3 minutes per game. He also played in 3 postseason games averaging 13.3 points on .484 shooting with 5.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 37.0 minutes per game. This past summer, Cherry played for the Cavs summer league team in July and averaged 12.8 points on .521 shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in five games.
{adinserter 2}Will Cherry is unlikely to be featured in the Cavaliers line-up unless someone like Kyrie Irving or Matthew Dellavedova gets seriously injured forcing Will Cherry to get into the rotation. Will Cherry is still only 23 years old and has showed some promise on the court, but he is still developing and has not played against the competition that Kyrie Irving and Matthew Dellavedova have for the past couple years.
This move has come as a surprise to many, as Ray Allen was thought to be the 15th and final player on the Cavaliers roster. Now that the Cavaliers have signed Will Cherry, it seems unlikely that Ray Allen will join the Cavaliers this season. Ray Allen has not made any decisions or said anything leaking his possible signing to the Cavaliers, but already a week into the season I would argue that signing Will Cherry to fill out the roster was a smart move by Cavaliers management. While Ray Allen would have been a great addition to the Cavaliers offensively, but his defensive liabilities on the court make me think how much would he even play in the rotation? The Cavaliers can still sign Ray Allen to the veteran minimum if he wants to come back, but with Will Cherry now in the 15th roster spot it looks like this will be the Cavaliers team going forward.