When the Cavaliers are cooking, they’re already tough to beat. Now, they may have made it just tougher.
At the very least, newcomer Javonte Green adds toughness. At 6-foot-4, he’s capable of playing everywhere from shooting guard to power-ish forward.
Green, 31, was picked up by the Cavs off the waiver wire. He agreed to a contract buyout with the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
“It’s a blessing that I can be here and be a part of it,” Green told reporters at shootaround on Sunday, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
Sources told Fedor and confirmed with Hoops Wire that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson was an advocate of potentially trading for Green ahead of the NBA deadline in early February. Instead, the Cavs were able to just sign him.
From the sounds of things, Green is thrilled they did. He has promised to bring not just toughness, but energy and other intangibles.
“I’m a very team-oriented player and I think this team has that,” he said. “I think it could be an easy fit for me.”
Of course, the Cavs (46-10 entering Sunday night) have been doggone good without Green. And there may not be many minutes for him in an already crowded lineup.
Everyone is well aware of it and seems just fine with it coming in.
“It’s nothing that they’re missing or anything,” Green said. “Just something that my game brings.”
Either way, Green reiterated that he’s happy to be on a contending team at this stage of his career.
“I feel like good players bring out the best in everybody,” he said. “Just trying to learn from the things that I don’t bring to the table that those guys have and just how they play and stuff like that. I just feel like we can learn from each other.”
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