Cleveland Cavaliers Plan To Waive Veteran Center Andrew Bogut

With the NBA playoffs approaching, the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers brought on a couple of veteran journeyman to fill out the roster and give the team a legitimate shot to repeat. The team signed center Andrew Bogut to bolster the frontcourt, but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.

Bogut, who recently signed with the team after being bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers following a trade from the Dallas Mavericks, went down with season-ending leg injury less than a minute into his first game with the Cavaliers. Now, Cleveland plans to waive the veteran, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

Cleveland plans to waive Bogut in order to free up a roster spot to replace the big man who was brought in for his rim-protecting and play-making abilities, a team source told ESPN. Bogut plans to rehabilitate back in his native Australia with his family.

Along with Bogut, the Cavaliers signed veteran point guard Deron Williams. Bringing in Williams was a move made to address the playmaker need superstar LeBron James desired to help shoulder the load in the frontcourt and take the pressure off him and fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving.

Even before bringing on Bogut and Williams, the Cavaliers were considered to be the favorite to reach the NBA Finals for a third straight season. Losing Bogut is a blow to the team’s chances at repeating as champions, but it by no means ends their attempt to win a second straight title with LeBron leading the way.

As for Bogut, the 32-year-old may have to consider retirement as he simply can’t seem to stay healthy. Bogut has been injury prone throughout his entire career and was an afterthought until he became a vital part of the Golden State Warriors championship run in 2015.