Cavs make Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen signing official

Veteran center Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen if officially a Cleveland Cavalier.

The Cavs made the move official in a press release sent out on Friday. Per the release, Andersen will wear 00 with the Cavs. Andersen has been linked with the Cavs for about a week now and per previous reports, Andersen will sign a veteran’s minimum deal with the Cavs. Cleveland did not disclose the value of Andersen’s contract in their release.

Andersen, 38, played with both the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies last season. He played in 27 games, 15 of which were starts, and averaged 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per game. Andersen is also a former teammate of LeBron James’ and won a title with the Heat in 2013.

For the Cavs, he provides depth up front with the departures of Timofey Mozgov and Sasha Kaun. It’s hard to see him playing a ton of minutes considering his age and Channing Frye’s presence, but against bigger teams, he could play roughly 10 minutes per game with little issue.

With Andersen’s signing, Cleveland’s roster nears completion. Not including unsigned players LeBron James, J.R. Smith, James Jones and rookie Kay Felder, the Cavs’ roster stands at 11. An extra roster spot could be created if the Cavs waive Dahntay Jones before his contract becomes guaranteed for next season by Aug. 1.

If the Cavs sign all four of the players listed above and waive Jones, they would have one empty roster spot. For much of last season, Cleveland kept an open roster spot in order to both save a little bit of money and keep a spot open in case a player they wanted to sign became available.