Cavs say Chris “Birdman” Andersen tears ACL in practice, out for year

One of the most colorful and fun players in the NBA might have suffered a career-ending injury on Friday afternoon. Chris “Birdman” Andersen tore his ACL during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ practice, according to the team. He will be out for the season, and it will be difficult for the 38 year old to come back from.

The Cavs signed him in the offseason for depth in the frontcourt, where they have been a bit thin with the departure of Timofey Mozgov and the difficult personal time that Channing Frye has gone through. At one point Andersen served a two-year suspension from the NBA for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, and his return and eventual role for the world-champion Miami Heat was and remains a great story. I personally enjoyed watching him play for the early Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets teams.

This opens up a hole for the Cavs frontcourt, and it will be interesting to see how proactive they are in filling it. Channing Frye will likely be asked to do even more.