Channing Frye realizes he may not get much playing time with the Cavaliers, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports. The power forward was acquired in a deadline deal and made his Cleveland debut Monday night, playing nine minutes. “I don’t think they need anything,” Frye told reporters prior to the game. “I think I’m just another option. I like to space the floor and I think I can give guys an opportunity not to get double-teamed. … I know there are All-Stars playing ahead of me so I’m going to have to earn my minutes whenever possible and just be ready.”
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Veteran power forward Reggie Evans will not be joining the Celtics, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines (Video link here). The Celtics were reportedly one of the teams interested in signing Evans, who has not played in the league this season. Blakely said that Celtics won’t be filling their open roster spot, created by the release of power forward David Lee, with the 35-year-old Evans. “If you’re thinking you’re going to get that guy, not going to happen,” Blakely said during the team’s pregame broadcast on Monday.
- Point guard Brandon Jennings admits he’s still not all the way back from the Achilles tendon tear that he suffered last January, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Jennings, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, was traded to the Magic last week along with power forward Ersan Ilyasova while forward Tobias Harris was shipped to the Pistons. “My goal was to get back to that level again — and it still is,” Jennings told Robbins. “So, it’s been a challenging year. Coming off the bench, of course, has been challenging for me. It’s the first time I’ve done it in my career. But I took on the challenge. I’ve accepted it.” The Magic brought in the duo to provide some veteran help to a young nucleus as part of a playoff push, Robbins adds.
- Interim Knicks coach Kurt Rambis said shooting guard Jimmer Fredette will have to outplay someone over the next 10 days to stay on the roster, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN New York tweets. Fredette signed a 10-day contract on Monday and played two minutes in the Knicks’ loss to the Raptors on Monday night.