Newly acquired forward Channing Frye only watched the Cavaliers practice on Friday.
He had unexpected company.
Guard Iman Shumpert sat out with a sprained left shoulder sustained in Thursday’s win over Chicago and Cleveland’s best perimeter defender could miss some upcoming games.
Shumpert, who dislocated the same shoulder and was sidelined for six weeks last season, got hurt while trying to make a steal in Cleveland’s 106-95 win, the Cavs’ fourth straight.
Following the workout at Cleveland Clinic Courts, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue initially said Shumpert sprained his shoulder and then backtracked to say he merely “tweaked it.” However, the team later said Shumpert did sustain a sprain and that his status for Sunday’s game at Oklahoma City will be determined before the team departs on Saturday.
Shumpert continued to play after he got hurt, scoring 5 points with 7 rebounds in 25 minutes.
“During the game last night he said he was fine, and today it was just a little sore, but we’ll see how it is going forward,” Lue said.
Shumpert’s injury may not be serious, but it’s another setback for a team that continues to be pestered by injuries. Guard Matthew Dellavedova returned Thursday night after missing five straight games with a hamstring issue.
Dellavedova, who may lead the league in floor burns, said he’s battled an assortment of nagging injuries this season.
“I had a few niggles throughout the year, but everybody deals with that stuff at some point during the season,” said the Australian, using an Australian idiom to describe his medical issues.
Niggles?
“I don’t know what the translation is for that,” he said (one definition is a persistent annoyance). “Sorry, I’ll try to keep speaking American.”
Meanwhile, Frye, acquired before Thursday’s trading deadline from Orlando in a three-team deal, is expected to practice for the first time with Cleveland on Saturday. The 31-year-old won’t have much time to learn Cleveland’s offense, but Lue said he has no reservations about using Frye against the Thunder.
“I’ve been part of trades and I know how it is,” Lue said. “You can learn simple things, just generic NBA sets that he can pick up. And then just kind of get him up to speed when he can.”
The Cavs obtained Frye – parting with popular center Anderson Varejao to get him – to improve their frontline depth and give their second unit another scorer. Frye is also a solid 3-point shooter, who will benefit from LeBron James’ uncanny ability to get the ball to open players on the wing.
Lue doesn’t envision Frye having any trouble fitting in with the Cavs.
“We’ve got a great group of guys so this shouldn’t be hard,” he said. “Guys welcomed him with open arms and they’re happy he’s here. I don’t see a big problem with that. Come in and be who you are. Channing is a great guy, great reputation.”
