CLEVELAND (AP) - On the eve of the NBA playoffs, the Cavaliers added a new player and one they know very well.
The defending champions signed guard Dahntay Jones and 7-foot-3 center Edy Tavares on Wednesday, just hours before the finale of a regular-season that has had more than its share of twists and turns.
To open a roster spot, the team waived center Larry Sanders, who was signed after Andrew Bogut broke his leg but was barely used by coach Tyronn Lue and spent his time with the Cavs shuffling between Cleveland and the club’s D-League affiliate in Canton.
Jones is back with the Cavs after helping them win the NBA title last spring. He was signed before the last game a year ago, and the 12-year veteran provided defense and experience.
Jones had an impact in the playoffs, appearing in 15 games and making a major contribution in Game 6 of the NBA Finals as Cleveland rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the city’s first pro sports championship since 1964.
A second-round pick by Atlanta in 2o14, Tavares played in just 12 career games for the Hawks and spent most of this season with Toronto’s D-League team. But the Cavs lack size up front as starting forward Tristan Thompson has been sidelined for the last four games with a sprained right thumb.
Tavares gives Lue at least another big man to use if Thompson isn’t 100 percent or gets into foul trouble.
The Cavs are sitting LeBron James for Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Toronto so he can rest a strained calf, and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving will likely sit as well because of a sore left knee.
Cleveland can only get the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference if it beats the Raptors and Boston loses to Milwaukee.
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