Report: Cavs players were 'highly pissed' Kendrick Perkins wasn't re-signed

Sometimes it seems like the Cleveland Cavaliers go out of their way to find things to be upset about.

Though they came within two wins of the NBA championship last season, and remain overwhelming favorites to win the Eastern Conference and return to the finals again this year, the Cavs have been mired in a ceaseless maelstrom of controversy and drama almost from the moment LeBron James announced his intention to return to Cleveland two summers ago.

The gripe of the moment in Cavs land appears to be the team's lack of a bruising enforcer - someone to dole out a brand of vigilante justice to keep opponents honest. James, Kyrie Irving, and head coach Tyronn Lue all expressed the team's need for such a player on Thursday, according to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.

"I've won championships with one, I've lost championships without one," James said.

To wit: Haynes revealed on "The Dan Patrick Show" that Cavs players were "highly pissed" the team didn't retain uber-physical center Kendrick Perkins in free agency last summer.

Perkins, who averaged 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in 17 games for Cleveland last season, instead signed with the New Orleans Pelicans.

"That guy, he was an emotional leader," Haynes said. "When things got tough, when they were pushing guys around on the Cavaliers, (former coach) David Blatt would insert Kendrick Perkins, and within a minute Kendrick Perkins was laying somebody out on the floor. ...

"Players, I know for a fact, I talked to (them), they were highly ticked off about that, not bringing him back. Because it wasn't about his numbers, it was about the intangibles, the emotional leadership, and the enforcing role he brought to the team."

The players are also reportedly dismayed that the roster spot that could've been used on Perkins instead went to unproven Russian center Sasha Kaun, who has played all of 48 minutes and scored nine total points this season.

"Losing Perk was a big piece of our success last year, even with his limited minutes," James said. "But what he meant to our team both in the locker room and when he got his opportunity was huge."