Cleveland Cavaliers big man Channing Frye has heard his name tossed about in several trade scenarios over the past few days, but the former Arizona Wildcat is taking things in stride.
Frye, now 34 years of age, scored seven points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in his 21 minutes of action in the Cavs’ 121-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday evening.
With so many new faces joining the Cavs’ roster, Frye knew his minutes were going to take a hit this season. He doesn’t seem to mind the relegation, though. In fact, Frye says he just wants to win.
“I went crazy a couple times, but, I mean, I just got to be ready,” Frye told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Like, all I want to do is win. And that’s it. If we’re not winning and I’m not playing, that’s a double suck.”
“I’ve been traded before,” Frye continued, referring to his name being included in recent trade talks. “What am I going to do? Listen, my checks transfer to Sacramento. I think at the end of the day, we have pretty good communication, and business is business. I want to be here to win. My main goal here, the only goal that everybody should have here, is to win a chip. So your personal feelings of what you think is best for you doesn’t matter. At all. If you’re not here to win a championship, you need to get the f— out of here.”
For a variety of reasons, Frye has become a fan-favorite in Cleveland. His calm demeanor and quick wit are endearing attributes, to be sure. He’s not just a good guy, though. Frye is also a great basketball player. As McMenamin pointed out in his article, the Cavs are plus-11 points per 100 possessions with Frye on the court this season, compared to minus-2.3 points per 100 possessions with him off of it. In his 39 games played for the Cavs this season, “The Deep Fryer,” as he’s came to be known, has turned in averages of 4.2 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field (33.8 percent from beyond the arc) and 2.2 rebounds.
“I still might get traded,” Frye noted. “So, while I’m here, what am I supposed to do? Help us win. Make sure we’re playing championship-level basketball and at the end of the day, if I’m not playing or in the rotation, I want to play and I want to help the team get to a chip and I want to play in a championship game.”
Although Frye is committed to helping the Cavs win another championship, he’s also a cognizant of the situation at hand.
“Whatever they have to do to win, they got to do that,” Frye said. “There’s no personal feelings. And I think that’s something that people don’t understand when they’re here. They’re like, ‘We’ll, this is about me.’ No. It’s not about it. It’s not. Absolutely not. If they feel like George Hill or if they feel like Anthony Davis or whoever else is out there they’re trying to get is going to upgrade them? Do it. I understand. So there’s no personal or hurt feelings. I want to be here. I want to be able to help and just let me know what I need to be able to do to play in the championship or help us win.”
Whether or not Frye will indeed be traded before the NBA’s Feb. 8 deadline remains to be seen. The former No. 8 pick in the 2005 Draft says he simply enjoys playing the game, especially with the Cavs.
“I am who I am,” Frye said. “I’m pretty light-hearted for the most part. I think for me, I just enjoy this. S—, we’re on a really good team. It’s like: have fun. Be unselfish and sacrifice for each other. That’s really what this is about. It’s like, we have everything that we’d ever need. It’s just if you sacrifice a little bit, it makes us that much more dangerous.”