Per cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, the Cleveland Cavaliers made a number of roster moves on Sunday, replacing Two-Way signings Billy Preston and Andrew Harrison with forwards Jaron Blossomgame and Jalen Jones.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived Billy Preston and Andrew Harrison — a pair of players on Two-Way contracts, league sources told cleveland.com.
With those spots available, the Cavs have signed Jaron Blossomgame and Jalen Jones to Two-Way contracts.
While the Cavaliers releasing Harrison may not have come as a surprise with the 24-year-old point guard struggling to make a consistent impact on the offensive end and veteran point guard George Hill returning to health, the release of Preston may have caught many by surprise considering the potential the franchise believed the raw but talented big man has.
Looking at their numbers, Harrison averaged 4.3 points, 1.7 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 0.4 steals in 14.4 minutes per game for the Cavs while shooting 30.8 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three-point range. Preston averaged 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game while shooting 35.0 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range for the Canton Charge.
Harrison, who felt like he could bring a dynamic to the Cavaliers’ play on both ends, too often looked incapable of threatening the defense with his passing, jump shooting or finishing around the rim to justify his remaining the backup point guard but it was probably thought he would just be reassigned to the Charge when Hill returned. However, with a bevy of guards already on the Charge’s roster, Cleveland seemingly found it a better option to release him outright.
Preston has yet to learn how to play within himself, seemingly burdened by his versatile skillset. He also needs to have greater strength and awareness on both ends of the court. At 21-years-old, Preston’s career is far from over but his days with the Cavaliers have ended far earlier than expected.
Their replacements, the athletic and intelligent Blossomgame and the versatile Jones, have been standout players at the G-League level.
Having played for both the Austin Spurs and Canton Charge, this season Blossomgame has averaged 21.o points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three-point range. Jones averaged 19.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field for the Texas Legends last season, earning a spot on the 2017 G-League All-Star Team and a call-up to the Dallas Mavericks.
*All stats gathered from Basketball Reference and gleague.nba.com