DeAndre Liggins, Jack McClinton, James Dews

Former Kentucky standout DeAndre Liggins is coming to Cavs on partially guaranteed contract.

(Garry Jones)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- DeAndre Liggins, an NBA journeyman and former D-League defensive player of the year who impressed the Cavs this summer, is coming to training camp today on a partially guaranteed contract.

Liggins, 28, is a 6-6 wing from the University of Kentucky who last played in the NBA with the Heat during the 2013-14 season. He's played 57 games in three NBA seasons. Last year with Sioux Falls of the D-League he averaged 13 points, 6.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.

A small portion of Liggins' two-year, roughly $2 million contract is guaranteed, a team source told cleveland.com, and the second year of the deal is a team option. The significance is Liggins is the 14th player coming to camp with at least a portion of his salary guaranteed -- it means the Cavs think he has a better chance to make their 15-man roster than the players in camp whose contracts aren't guaranteed.

The 15th spot (technically, if you're counting, it would be the fourth or fifth spot) is expected to belong to J.R. Smith, the Cavs; starting shooting guard the last two seasons who is still a free agent. Smith has been in town all weekend (he attended at least two Indians games) and the two sides have maintained dialogue on a new contract, but there was no deal as of Sunday night.

Liggins was the D-League's top defensive player in 2014; last season he was second-team all league. He joined the Cavs for the NBA's Summer League in Las Vegas and averaged 5.9 points and 5.0 rebounds.

The Cavs' non-guaranteed players coming to camp are Dahntay Jones, who was on the team for its run to the Finals last season; the others are John Holland, Markel Brown, Cory Jefferson, and Eric Moreland.

Players will take physicals today and meet reporters for Media Day. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue's first practice for the 2016-17 season is Tuesday.