CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to an Exhibit 10 training camp deal with center Marques Bolden, league sources tell cleveland.com.

After not being selected in the 2019 NBA Draft, Bolden played for the Cavaliers during summer league. He will come to training camp to compete for one of the final roster spots. Following JR Smith’s departure, the Cavs have 13 players under contract, two below the maximum number allowed. The Cavs also have an open two-way contract.

By signing Bolden to the Exhibit 10 contract, which doesn’t count against a team’s salary cap, the Cavs will stay below the luxury tax threshold. They are currently $2.8 million under the tax -- a small number that could restrict how they manage the final few openings. This maneuver gives the Cavs -- and Bolden -- an option to play in the G League for the Canton Charge if he can’t make the NBA roster out of camp. The Cavs will have to make their official decision on Bolden shortly before Opening Night.

Throughout summer league, both in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, the former McDonald’s All-American who struggled to make an impact in college, was praised by Cleveland’s coaches. Head coach John Beilein said Bolden was restricted at Duke and his game is better suited for the NBA. Assistant Antonio Lang, who led the summer Cavs in Vegas, felt the same.

“Because he’s a hard roller, he’s a rim protector, he has good hands and he can guard on the floor in switch situations,” Lang said. “In college you don’t have space. Here you have space and he can create space if he continues to roll hard. Everything you look for in a big he has, he just has to be more efficient with his footwork and learn the game more. That comes with practice and time. He’s more suited for the NBA game.”

Bolden, 6-foot-11, averaged 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in summer league action. Because of Cleveland’s roster makeup, Bolden will be one of the few bigs invited to training camp. Last week, the team agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal with shooting guard J.P. Macura.

According to sources, the Cavs are not expecting to have a full roster going into the season opener. They have a few minimum-level players on their radar for the 14th spot, but nothing lined up quite yet. They might even wait until after camp to see which players get released from other NBA teams.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum-salary deal. The contract doesn’t come with any compensation protection, but can include an optional bonus ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. It includes an Exhibit 10 attachment, which can be converted to a regular-season contract or a two-way deal. The other options are releasing the player or sending him to the G League affiliate, which in this case would be Canton.

The Exhibit 10 bonus serves as an incentive for players to stick with the organization’s G League affiliate, as they must spend at least 60 days with the G League team in order to get the bonus.

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