INDEPENDENCE — Cavaliers players and coaches don’t use words like “flashy” or “spectacular” when asked about veteran shooting guard Anthony Parker.

“Solid,” “classy,” “professional” and “intelligent,” however, get spit out faster than coach Mike Brown’s one-day, one-game-at-a-time mantra.

“He’s a veteran,” Brown said. “He’s a classy guy off the floor and he can play the game of basketball. So far, he’s looked very good out on the floor — at both ends.

“He’s a pro. He’s one of those guys who has a way about him, not only on the floor, but off the floor. He’s a culture guy. We had a culture here in the past, but, boy, he just adds to it.”

New Cavs guard Anthony Parker, seen swooping to the basket when he played for the Toronto Raptors, has impressed Cleveland coach Mike Brown so far with his multidimensional game. (AP photo.)

So far, Parker has been everything the Cavaliers thought he would be when they signed the free agent away from the Toronto Raptors for two years and $5.5 million.

At 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, he gives Cleveland a bigger body at shoot guard, which would have come in handy last season against Orlando’s Hedo Turkoglu and Courtney Lee (both since traded) in the Eastern Conference finals.

At 34 and with his fourth team in seven NBA seasons — he also spent five professional seasons in Europe — Parker has been around the block a few times, so he knows how to play to his strengths and minimize his weaknesses.

Smart and level-headed, the older brother of former University of Tennessee and current WNBA star Candace Parker is also willing to try to fill any niche the Cavaliers carve out for him.

“That’s a solid addition,” Cleveland point guard Mo Williams said. “It’s a guy who doesn’t demand a lot. If he gets six shots a game, I’m confident he’ll make 60 percent or better.

“He does a lot of good things. He’s really solid. That’s big for us.”

Offensively, Parker’s biggest strength is the ability to make 3-pointers. He shot .390 from beyond the arc (94-of-241) for Toronto last season and has connected at a .415 clip over his NBA career.

The former Bradley star is not a one-dimensional player, however, as Brown raves about a “unique skill” the Cavaliers “haven’t quite had here like he can do it.”

Brown is referring to Parker’s ability to come off screens and make jumpers — “He looks awfully good shooting it,” the coach said — though it’s unclear how much Cleveland will incorporate that into an offense that will likely spread the floor and highlight the one-on-one abilities of LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and Williams.

For his part, Parker doesn’t really care. Nor is he losing any sleep over whether he starts — the chances of that likely increased with incumbent Delonte West’s recent arrest, two-day disappearance from camp, pending court date and probable NBA suspension — or comes off the bench.

“This is training camp,” said Parker, who averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and a career-high 3.4 assists while playing in 80 games last season (71 starts). “This is when you’ve got to keep building, get the chemistry and everything.

“(Starting) doesn’t matter. Either way, I’m going to get some opportunities. This is a great team. LeBron plays most of the minutes, so I’m going to be on the floor with him the majority of the time whether I start or come off the bench.”

Of course, that’s not always the case during scrimmages, when Parker has often found himself defending the 6-8, 250-pound James.

“Defending LeBron doesn’t help you out at all,” Parker quipped. “You don’t gain anything.”

The veteran then quickly amended that statement, saying, “If anything, it’s like when you shoot those huge basketballs. It’s psychological. When you have to guard a human, you might do a little better.”

While James often looks superhuman, that’s an adjective never applied to the workmanlike Parker. While certainly athletic, the veteran relies on experience and guile to get the job done.

“I’m a good team defender,” he said. “I try to be in the right place. Obviously, the two-three (shooting guard and small forward) is the toughest position to guard in the league. Any night, you could do your job and a guy still scores 20 on you.”

Parker won’t have many similar outbursts, but he will provide the Cavaliers with a solid, classy, professional and intelligent player.

“He’s a big guard and he’s an athletic guard,” James said. “He can really shoot the ball and he knows how to play the game of basketball. That’s going to help.”

Tip-ins

• Brown said he will try to play all 20 players in camp in tonight’s exhibition opener against the Charlotte Bobcats at Quicken Loans Arena, including West, who did not take part in the team’s scrimmage Saturday at the University of Akron.
• O’Neal posted “Let’s go Steelers” on his Twitter page prior to Pittsburgh’s game against San Diego on Sunday and predicted his college, LSU, will beat top-ranked Florida on Saturday. “I’m a bandwagon football fan,” he said. “I’ll admit it.”
• James appeared on the season finale of HBO’s “Entourage” Sunday night. James said he was “a big fan” of the show and just happened to be in Los Angeles when the final episode was being filmed, so producers asked him to be a part of it. “It was perfect timing,” he said.

Tonight

• Who: Cleveland vs. Charlotte
• What: Preseason opener
• Time: 7 o’clock
• Where: The Q
• Radio: WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.