Jack Cooley to Cavaliers: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction
The Cleveland Cavaliers announced on Saturday they have signed free-agent forward Jack Cooley to provide some extra frontcourt depth as Tristan Thompson's holdout continues and LeBron James battles a back injury.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports initially reported the agreement was in place. The Cavs announced they waived Chris Johnson to open up the roster spot.
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported it is a one-year, $845,059 deal.
Cooley previously spent time in the Cavaliers organization last summer when he played on the team's Las Vegas Summer League squad. He ended up appearing in 16 games for the Utah Jazz last season, averaging 1.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in limited action off the bench.
After the Jazz let him go, CBS Sports provided a RotoWire update concerning the positive strides he made during the stint:
"Cooley has shown sparks of improvement over the past year within the Jazz organization but ultimately his limited outings on the court weren't impressive enough to make the 15-man roster this season.
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In July, Cooley noted he was working to add a little bit more variety to his game after Utah's coaching staff suggested he add a short-range floater to his arsenal, per Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
"I've been watching guards," Cooley said. "It's ridiculous that I'm watching Chris Paul shoot a floater. I'm just trying to learn different techniques. ... My improvement on it has been very good."
It's highly unlikely he'll make any type of serious impact for Cleveland this season. He's nothing more than a fringe roster player, even with some noticeable progress since his time at Notre Dame. He does fill a position of need for the team right now, though.
Perhaps a strong showing in practices and the team's final few preseason games will be enough to earn Cooley a roster spot to start the 2015-16 campaign. The Cavs open the regular season against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 27.
