National Basketball Association

Cavs get rights to Syracuse's Rakeem Christmas in 2nd round

Published Jun. 25, 2015 11:34 p.m. ET

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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired the rights to Syracuse forward Rakeem Christmas following a trade with Minnesota in the NBA draft.

With the No. 24 overall pick, the Cavs took Duke point guard Tyus Jones and dealt him to the Timberwolves for the Nos. 31 and 36 picks, a person familiar with the package told the Associated Press on Thursday night. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been officially announced.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Christmas can give the Cavs some frontline depth to go along with Anderson Varejao and in case they don't re-sign free agents Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson. Christmas averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds last season as a senior for the Orange.

At No. 31, the Cavs selected Turkish forward Cedi Osman.

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AP sports writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report from Minneapolis.