Cavaliers latest free agent pickup was Cleveland’s missing piece

The Cleveland Cavaliers added a former division rival and NBA champion to fill one of their final roster holes on Tuesday.

ESPN’s Shams Charania announced that the Cavs have agreed to terms with free agent center Thomas Bryant on a one-year deal.

Just a few months ago, the Cavaliers struggled to defend Bryant, who played a pivotal role as a backup center with the Indiana Pacers.

The eight-year veteran won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023. This addition proves that Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman understands that his team needs to rise to the occasion come playoff time.

While Bryant, who is still just 28 years old, will play a bench role for the Cavs, he can hopefully toughen up the team’s starting big men in practice. In his career against starting center Jarrett Allen, Bryant is averaging 10 points and six rebounds per game in 19 minutes. Allen is averaging 12 points and nine rebounds against Bryant, averaging 26 minutes per game.

This addition will complement Allen and Evan Mobley nicely, as Bryant is a force to be reckoned with on the interior, and has a nice outside jumper that can help space the floor.

Altman has continued to preach that keeping Cleveland’s core four of Allen, Mobley, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell together is of utmost importance to the Cavs as they proceed. However, being the only team in the second apron, the addition of Bryant could be an inexpensive way to move off Allen’s salary if the team decides to move forward with Mobley as the lone starting big man on the roster.

While Bryant averaged just under seven points per game during his time with the Pacers last year, he was a constant thorn in Cleveland’s side. His toughness around the basket made life difficult for Mobley and Allen, and the Cavs will certainly welcome that sort of juice this postseason.

The Eastern Conference is wide open for the taking after the Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton and the Boston Celtics lost Jayson Tatum due to ruptured Achilles tendons. The Cavs are currently the betting favorites to win the East, but they will also have to get through the New York Knicks, who upset them in the first round of the NBA Playoffs two seasons ago.

Adding Bryant to a frontcourt of Allen, Mobley and newly-signed Larry Nance Jr. will give the Cavaliers enough horsepower to hang with Karl-Anthony Towns, who pretty much always produces come NBA Playoff time.

After this signing, the Cavs do not have many holes. While some suggested reunions with Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson – Bryant brings that same NBA Championship pedigree while also being able to actually contribute on the floor.