The Cleveland Cavaliers signed Leon Powe today to a contract for 2 years worth $1.77M. That is the NBA league minimum for players with three years of service (he will make $855,189 & $915,852 in Year 1 & 2).
As long as the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee heals properly (he tore it in the 2009 NBA Playoffs), he will be a great addition to a Cavs team in need of young bigs. They made huge news earlier this off-season with the signing of Shaquille O’Neal and already have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but they are 37 and 34-years old, respectively. Powe is only 25 years old.
Powe has shown toughness his entire life rising up through poverty, homelessness, and foster care to make it to the NBA. A Bay-area native, Powe chose to play in college for the California Golden Bears. At Berkeley, he dominated from the beginning winning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year honors and leading the Pac-10 in rebounds. He injured his knee his sophomore season, but bounced back his junior year to lead the Pac-10 with 20.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in the 2005-06 season.
The 6-foot-8 power forward averaged 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds in 70 games last season for the Boston Celtics, while only playing 17.5 minutes per game. He also brings an NBA Championship ring to the Cavs (he won with the Celtics in 2008), which I am sure LeBron James might take a jealous glance at.
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