John Holland and London Perrantes with Cavs, while Charge add Grant Jerrett to replace Kendrick Perkins.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will a have Canton Charge feel in the immediate aftermath of the NBA trade deadline.
Two-way players John Holland and London Perrantes are with the Cavs for their game in Atlanta on Friday, while Cavs center Ante Zizic, who has played extensively with the Charge on assignment in recent weeks, also is with the parent team.
In addition, veteran center Kendrick Perkins, who retired from the Charge and the G League earlier in the week, announced on Twitter early Thursday evening that he was heading to the Cavs, then quickly deleted it. Cleveland.com later reported that Perkins has not signed with the Cavs, who want to wait until after the All-Star break to fill their two open roster spots.
Holland, Perrantes and Zizic are at the ready for the Cavs because of Cleveland’s roster overhaul Thursday, which saw them shed six players — Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert. It’s doubtful any of the four players they added — George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. — will be ready to play Friday.
Perrantes has appeared in one game with the Cavs, a Dec. 12 home win against the Hawks. Holland has appeared in four, most recently on Nov. 28.
Both players have suffered through somewhat frustrating seasons with the Charge. Holland, averaging a team-high 19.5 points, missed 12 games from mid December to mid January with a shoulder injury. Perrantes entered Thursday ninth in the G League in assists per game at 7.6 but has struggled with his shot, hitting only 38.1 percent from the field and 31.4 from the 3-point line.
Meanwhile, the Charge (13-21) play a back-to-back Friday and Saturday at the Windy City Bulls.
The Charge have reacquired forward Grant Jerrett in Perkins’ absence. The 24-year-old Jerrett played 10 games with the Charge last season before leaving to play in China. He averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 40.5 percent from 3-point range with Canton.
At 6-foot-10, he gives the Charge a big man who can stretch the floor while teammates such as JaCorey Williams and Gerald Beverly thrive in the paint.
Charge director of G League operations Brendon Yu said there is a possibility Jerrett could play with the Charge Friday if he gets cleared medically in time.
“We could use him,” Yu said, since the Charge would be down to nine guys and no one taller than 6-8 without Jerrett.
Perkins stepped away from the G League because he needed to take care of some personal business in Texas for a couple of weeks and didn’t want to take up a roster spot that could go to another player, according to Yu.
The 33-year-old Perkins averaged 8.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in 27 games with the Charge after being waived in training camp by the Cavs. He was a core piece for the Charge through the first two months of the season, averaging 10.2 points in 24.7 minutes a night. After the New Year, he never reached 20 minutes in a game and registered several DNPs because of Zizic’s presence and Caleb Swanigan being assigned from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Yu was effusive in his praise of Perkins.
“Perk was awesome the whole time he was down there,” Yu said. “He was a big help to the players and the coaching staff.
“The wins and losses haven’t gone the way we wanted. Especially in the G League, when a team struggles, the locker room can get toxic. That hasn’t happened, and Perk is a big reason why.”
Speaking before Perkins posted his tweet about returning to the Cavs, Yu said he did not know Perkins’ chances of landing back in Cleveland. While his level of play has fallen way off, Perkins remains a respected vocal leader and teammate.
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