Cleveland Cavalier’s undrafted rookie Kenny Kadji making presence known

As a 25-year old rookie, Miami graduate Kenny Kadji was completely overlooked coming out of college, going undrafted. The Cleveland Cavaliers picked him up for the Summer League squad, and Kadji has impressed many. What other teams saw as an age concern, Kenny Kadji sees as a developmental benefit, meaning Kadji aims to contribute immediately. In his preseason debut, Kadji showed this with a 15 point, five rebound performance.

And Kenny Kadji may be exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers need. Kadji is just shy of seven feet, and with his three-point potential (37% in his two years with the Hurricanes), Kadji can find a nice place in the front court as a long range threat, shared only with rookie Anthony Bennett who will presumably see action at the three and four spot; Bennett, however, is only 6’8. And at 6’11, Kadji is a decent shot blocker, averaging 2 blocks per game with the University of Miami. This summer with the Cavaliers, Kadji has showed he can bring energy to the court and make an effort on the boards.

Kadji is seen to have a high basketball IQ, and with his ability playing the pick-and-roll, Kadji could find himself playing decent minutes running the pick-and-pop with Kyrie Irving, showing off that three-point range.

While Kenny Kadji’s second preseason game was lackluster, he did go 4-4 from the line and block a shot in his nine minutes of play against the Orlando Magic. I’m excited to see how Kadji will respond in Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats, as well as how the preseason will pan out for him. With the health uncertainty that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front court has seen in recent times, Kadji is a great asset for the Cavs to keep around. He fits right in with the youthful spirit of this Cleveland team and hopefully his maturity as a rookie will allow Kadji to see minutes early on.


(isportsweb.com)