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The Cleveland Cavaliers have trimmed their training camp roster to the final 15 in anticipation for the start of the regular season on Thursday night against the New York Knicks. To Twitter for the results!
#Cavs have waived forward Shane Edwards, I'm told.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 25, 2014
Shane Edwards has been released by #Cavs. Roster at 15
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydABJ) October 25, 2014
Alex Kirk, AJ Price and Lou Amundson have made the #Cavs 15-man roster.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 25, 2014
Shane Edwards is no surprise to be released, having played just over seven minutes per game throughout the preseason, and doing nothing of particular value for the team during preseason. He might be a candidate to head to Canton, where he spent most of last season before the Cavs signed him to a 10-day contract, but he was never going to make the team.
The big news is that Lou Amundson, A.J. Price, and Alex Kirk all made the final 15-man roster. Amundson didn't play much either during the preseason, but in his minimal minutes he proved that he could fit well into the Cavs' rotation as a rebounder when Anderson Varejao sits. He and Kirk, who played decently during the preseason as a rebounder and defensive stopper (despite my absolute abhorance to his game) will be making the roster for much of the same reasoning; the Cavs need bench depth in the middle, and Amundson and Kirk are both bodies who can play center if Varejao goes down with injury or Brendan Haywood can't cut it.
Price, meanwhile, flashed decent scoring ability and game management as a reserve point guard, arguably playing better than Matthew Dellavedova in some games and showing an acceptable three-point shot. He's never going to be someone who should be playing big minutes (See his work with the 12-13 Washington Wizards), but he can step in and handle the ball for short stretches, a role that he will need to fill if Kyrie Irving has his yearly minor injuries and Dellavedova doesn't progress as an on-ball guard.
So, the final roster looks like this:
PG: Irving, Dellavedova, Price
SG: Dion Waiters, Mike Miller, Joe Harris
SF: LeBron James, Shawn Marion, James Jones
PF: Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, Lou Amundson
C: Anderson Varejao, Brendan Haywood, Alex Kirk