Cavaliers' summer league roster taking shape
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By
JASON LLOYD
Akron Beacon Journal
Published: Monday, Jul. 9, 2012 - 1:00 am
AKRON, Ohio -- As trade rumors swirl around them, the Cavaliers work to finalize their roster for the Las Vegas Summer League.
The roster is fluid and changes can still come, but T.J. Campbell, Michael Eric, Kevin Jones, Rob Jones and Garrett Temple have all agreed to play with the Cavs' team, a source with knowledge of the roster confirmed.
The Cavs open summer league play Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats.
The five non-roster invitees will join Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, incoming rookies Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller and roster holdovers D.J. Kennedy and Donald Sloan.
The most intriguing name among the nonroster players is Kevin Jones, who became the third player in Big East history to lead the conference in scoring (19.9 points) and rebounding (10.9). He was projected to be a second-round pick, but went undrafted, perhaps because of his undersize 6-foot-7 frame. If Jones plays well in Vegas, it could lead to a contract offer from the Cavs. Both sides have discussed a contract for next season.
Eric is a 6-11 center out of Temple who also went undrafted last month. He averaged 9.1 points and 8.8 rebounds as a fifth-year senior, but battled knee problems his last two years.
Campbell is a 5-9 point guard who played for the Cavs' Development League team in Canton last season, averaging 12.6 points and 5.2 assists. He participated in the NBA's first China Jam Live event, which was a weeklong event that exposed Chinese fans to the NBA game. Current NBA players Brandon Jennings and DeMar DeRozan joined retirees Gary Payton and Horace Grant at the event.
Rob Jones averaged 15 points and 10.8 rebounds as a senior at Saint Mary's last season. He reportedly turned down a free-agent offer from the NFL's Minnesota Vikings to concentrate on basketball. Randy Bennett, the coach at Saint Mary's, was the top assistant at the University of San Diego when Cavs General Manager Chris Grant was a freshman.
None of the nonroster invitees has a contract with the Cavs for the upcoming season, only agreements to participate on their summer league team.
Irving and Thompson missed out on the summer league experience last summer because of the lockout, so they're attending this season. Coach Byron Scott hinted during the season that the two might not play in all five games, but he wanted them to at least participate in a couple and get as much court time together as possible.
Irving is already in Las Vegas as part of the U.S. Select team that is practicing against Team USA in preparation for the Olympics.