INDEPENDENCE — The Cavaliers got their roster down to the NBA maximum of 15 players Thursday evening by waiving guards Andre Barrett and Russell Robinson and big man Darryl Watkins.

The final decision likely came down to keeping 6-foot-5, 205-pound Coby Karl, who can play both guard positions, over the 5-foot-10 Barrett, a Seton Hall product who played 67 games over four years for Houston, Orlando. Phoenix, Toronto, Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers.

Karl, the son of current Denver coach and former Cavaliers boss George Karl, played his college ball at Boise State and appeared in 17 games for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2007-08.

The moves mean Cleveland’s roster breaks down this way, though a number of the players listed below can and will play more than one position:

Point guard: Mo Williams, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson.

Shooting guard: Anthony Parker, Danny Green, Coby Karl.

Small forward: LeBron James, Jamario Moon, Jawad Williams.

Power forward: Anderson Varejao, J.J. Hickson, Darnell Jackson, Leon Powe.

Center: Shaquille O”Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

O’Neal, Parker, Moon, Green, Karl and Powe will be new faces on a team that went an NBA-best 66-16 in the 2008-09 regular season but lost to Orlando in six games in the Eastern Conference finals. O’Neal and Parker will start in the season opener against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena, while Moon will be part of the team’s rotation.

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