Cavaliers plan to sign G League’s Luke Kornet, Justin Anderson to 10-day hardship exceptions

On Sunday, the NBA announced that that evening’s game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks had been canceled due to 7 players on Cleveland’s roster being in or entering league health and safety protocols. Jarrett Allen, Lamar Stevens, R.J. Nembhard, Denzel Valentine and Dylan Windler joined Isaac Okoro and Evan Mobley on the sidelines due to COVID-19.

Because of this, according to sources the Cavs plan on signing Luke Kornet from the Maine Celtics as well as Justin Anderson from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the NBA G League to 10-day hardship exceptions once they’ve been granted by the league. These signings had first been announced by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

A 10-day hardship exception is a temporary roster spot that must be granted by the league. It allows a team to exceed the 15-man maximum roster when it has at least four players who are sick or injured for longer than two weeks. Each of the four sick or injured players must miss at least three consecutive games during their two-week absence. An independent physician, not the team’s doctor, must decide whether each player is required to miss two weeks.

Kornet, a 7-2 big man who went undrafted in 2017, is averaging 11.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.6 blocks this season for the Celtics. Anderson, a 6-6 wing who went in the first round in 2015, meanwhile, is averaging 14.3 points, 6.5, 2.9 assists and 1.0 steals per gamefor the Mad Ants.