Channing Frye is moving to Cleveland. The Cavaliers have traded for the veteran power forward as part of a three-team trade that involves the Orlando Magic and Portland Trail Blazers, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Cavaliers acquire Channing Frye from Magic, according to report
The Cavs are getting the sweet shooting veteran big man from Orlando.
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The 32-year-old Frye will be expected to provide the Cavs with shooting in the front court. In return, the Magic are getting veteran center Anderson Varejao, wing Jared Cunningham and a second round pick from Cleveland. Orlando is then moving Varejao to Portland in exchange for a conditional first round pick from Cleveland that will be conveyed in 2018 at the earliest and is top 10 protected for two years, according to multiple reports.
The moves also give Cleveland a new $9.6 million trade exception to work with.
Frye signed a four-year, $32 million free agent deal with the Magic in the summer of 2014. He played 25 minutes per game for Orlando last season, averaging 7.5 points and shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range on 4.6 attempts per game. Frye is hitting 39.7 percent of his threes this season. Read our Cavs community Fear the Sword for more on the impact of acquiring Frye.
Getting rid of Varejao’s contract was key to the deal for Cleveland. Varejao received an extension through the 2017-18 season in Nov. 2014, then played only 26 games because of a season-ending leg injury. He’ll be expected to provide depth and interior defense for a young front court in Portland.
The key to the deal for Orlando is getting clearing the last two years of Frye’s contract to open up cap space.
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