Cavaliers waive Kendrick Perkins

If you aren’t already sitting, I suggest you take a seat. The Cleveland Cavaliers have waived the non-guaranteed contract of Kendrick Perkins.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the team’s decision:

Perkins saw the court just once this past season with the Cavs, signing prior to the final game of the year and playing 15 minutes in that appearance. He was brought in to be a strong locker room presence and help right the ship in what had turned into a tumultuous year.

The Cavs picked up his $2.5 million option earlier this summer as a ploy to help facilitate a trade. With the contract being non-guaranteed, Perkins could have been combined with an existing contract to help provide relief with another team.

Now that LeBron James is in L.A., the Cavs are heading in another direction and clearly didn’t have a use for the Perkins contract as a trade chip. With summer league concluding, the team may use this roster spot to take a flyer on someone like Scoochie Smith or an undrafted player. The team still doesn’t have any cap room available to them, so their options to fill this roster spot are limited.