UPDATE 4:13 p.m. ET: Royce Young of ESPN.com and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports both report that Perkins will indeed sign with the Cavaliers.
11:59 a.m. ET: Oklahoma City upgraded at the center spot at the deadline — Kendrick Perkins was loved in the locker room but not much help on the court anymore. Enis Kanter provides a lot more scoring and should balance nicely with Steven Adams (once Adams gets healthy).
Perkins was shipped off to Utah where he will soon be bought out. The Clippers — with Perkins’ old coach Doc Rivers — and Bull had interest.
But the Cavaliers are the frontrunners to land him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.The Cleveland Cavaliers have emerged as the strong frontrunners to sign center Kendrick Perkins, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Perkins and the Utah Jazz are proceeding on a contract buyout that could be completed as soon as Saturday, sources said.
Perkins is leaning toward signing a deal with the Cavaliers, but has yet to make a final commitment, sources said.Timofey Mozgov has become key to the Cavaliers at the five with what he brings on defense. When he sits, David Blatt puts Tristan Thompson in at the five, even though that’s not his traditional position. Perkins could give the Cavaliers a few minutes a game behind Mozgov — but not give them much on the court while out there, this is not 2008 Perkins anymore. That said, he would be a good locker room presence for a team with key players who are not playoff tested.
