Chris Andersen to Cavaliers: Contract Details, Reaction

Chris Andersen's effectiveness has waned with age, but the 38-year-old big man will hope to bring some energy to the Cleveland Cavaliers bench after agreeing to terms on a one-year deal. The Cavs announced the news Friday. 

The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski first relayed word of the agreement on July 15.

A 14-year veteran, Andersen most recently spent three-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat before getting dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies at the 2016 trade deadline. 

During his time with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the Heat, Andersen helped the South Beach ballers capture a ring with his tenacious disposition off the bench.

Although Birdman's playing time was often limited to shorter spurts, he found ways to remain effective as a rebounder and rim protector for a team that was relatively thin on depth behind its superstar core.

His most notable contributions came during the team's 2013 title run, when he averaged 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 80.7 percent from the field in 20 postseason appearances. 

"I’ve really liked and enjoyed seeing Chris' growth as a leader, as a veteran guy," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told Sporting News' Adi Joseph last December. "I don't think you necessarily would have put that sentence together five years ago, but he's finding meaning in impacting a team, a champion."

Last season, Andersen appeared in just seven games for the Heat prior to the deadline deal. His role grew marginally from that point on, and he finished the campaign by averaging 3.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per night.  

Season	Games	PPG	RPG	BPG	PER
2012-13	42	4.9	4.1	1.0	17.4
2013-14	72	6.6	5.3	1.3	18.5
2014-15	60	5.3	5.0	1.0	16.1
2015-16	27	3.9	3.6	0.5	15.3

Now reunited with James, Andersen will provide head coach Tyronn Lue and the Cavaliers with some peace of mind in the frontcourt after Timofey Mozgov bolted for the Los Angeles Lakers on a four-year, $64 million deal. 

However, his role will likely be limited with Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and Channing Frye all slotted in ahead of him on the depth chart. Factor in LeBron's ability to function as a small-ball power forward, and Andersen may only rotate in from time to time when Thompson finds himself in foul trouble. 

But considering the Cavaliers had limited financial flexibility, adding Andersen to their title-caliber squad is a savvy move that could pay dividends if the team needs a spark off the bench when next postseason rolls around. 

Andersen's contributions may be perceived as nominal based on basic box-score tallies, but his ability to make sound rotations on defense and alter shots at the rim could prove invaluable to a team in need of quality veteran talent at the end of its bench.