With the numerous names the Cleveland Cavaliers added to their already championship-caliber roster, someone was going to have to be the odd man out. While that may be Tristan Thompson in some sense of the word as he’ll cede his spot in the starting 5 to Jae Crowder, he won’t be the only one who will see a diminished role according to head coach Tyronn Lue.
According to Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon, Lue also informed reserve big Channing Frye that he will see his playing time largely trimmed down and won’t be a part of the Cavs primary rotation barring an injury. “I was like man I’m sorry,” Lue said when informing Frye of his rotation plans. “(Frye) said, ‘listen, I’m very excited about our team, not too many opportunities to get to play on a team like this.'” Lue said Frye also added “If I have to wear a suit all season for us to win, that’s what I’ll do. Don’t worry about me, I’m going to continue to keep working. If you need me I’ll be ready.”
Though the splashy additions made by the Cavs weren’t frontcourt pieces like Channing Frye, going small with Love at the 5 and Thompson as the backup center will cut into the sharpshooter’s minutes drastically.
Frye could’ve been paired with Thompson to form the reserve big combination but the arrival of Jeff Green and the increasing prevalence of uptempo play will likely relegate the Arizona product to rare playing time and serving as no more than a veteran locker room presence.
Based off Lue’s comments, it at least seems that Frye is understanding of the circumstances and is more than open to serving as an insurance policy. Frye averaged a solid 9.1 points and a hair under 4 rebounds in 19 minutes per game last season for Cleveland.
