James Jones officially inks one-year deal with the Cavs

The man they call “Champ” is back for at least one more season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. News began swirling earlier this week that Jones, 35, was going to sign a one-year, $1.5 million deal to return to the NBA Champion Cavs. On Wednesday afternoon, the deal became official.

“We’re very happy to have James back with the Cavaliers,” said Griffin. “He is a Champion in every sense of the word and his leadership and professionalism over the last two years have translated with our team in many different ways that have helped us reach our goals.  ‘Champ’ delivers a clear reflection of what success at the highest level should embody and his contributions and commitment to our team are something we need and appreciate greatly.”

While not seeing much in the way of playing time during the course of the 2015-16 season, Jones was an integral part of the Cavaliers’ overall chemistry. A close friend of LeBron James, Jones has been to six consecutive NBA Finals dating back to the time both spent in Miami with the Heat.

For his career, the 13-year NBA veteran has played in 661 regular season games (91 starts) with averages of 5.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game with Miami, Portland, Phoenix, Indiana and Cleveland. He has been a member of three NBA title teams (2012, 2013, 2016), appearing in a ridiculous 140 postseason contests over his career.

Jones’ signing means that James and J.R. Smith remain as the only unsigned players from last season’s championship team. Both players are expected to return for the 2016-17 defense of the Larry O’Brien Trophy.