Jordan McRae was waived after the Cleveland Cavaliers front office consulted Kyrie Irving about the roster move.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Jordan McRae will be waived before Wednesday’s game after the Cleveland Cavaliers front office consulted Kyrie Irving. McRae will be waived so that Andrew Bogut can sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers for their playoff run.
A team source tells ESPN the Cavs will waive Jordan McRae to create a roster spot to sign Andrew Bogut. He will not be w/ CLE for BOS game
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 1, 2017
Source tells ESPN that Kyrie Irving, seen here at the parade w/ Jordan McRae, was consulted about the move before J-Mac was waived pic.twitter.com/1wp9AjpE8Q
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 1, 2017
Last Thursday, the Cavs signed Derrick Williams to a second 10-day contract (and will presumably sign him for the rest of the season). On Monday, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Deron Williams for the rest of the season. Those two moves left the Cavs with the maximum 15 players allowable on a roster.
Unfortunately for Jordan McRae, who has been the 15th man on the bench after DeAndre Liggins proved his worth in the beginning of the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been likely to waive him for a while.
McRae was sensational in the offseason, showing off his scoring potential and potential fit as a sixth man. Unfortunately, McRae has been inefficient most games, fails to make many defensive plays and shows little in the way of being a floor general. He never looked like a fit in LeBron James’ mantra of playing basketball “the right way”.
Now the team will waive him to sign Bogut. Even if Bogut chose another team, they may have waived McRae so that they could sign center Larry Sanders. Both players are elite rebounders and rim-protectors who can help the Cavs on the boards while Kevin Love is out with an injury, give Tristan Thompson rest and anchor the defense when they’re out on the floor. For the Cavs, who are in championship contention, swapping a useful player for the last man on the bench is a no-brainer.
Still, McRae made real friends on the Cavs like Iman Shumpert and Irving, who he trained and played pick-up basketball games with over the summer. Irving, a four-time All-Star and heir to James’ throne as the face of the franchise, was consulted because of his relationship with McRae and his importance to the future of the organization.
Irving, 24, and McRae, 25, are two players that were developing their skills for the Cavs’ future and not just the tail-end of James’ career.
It’s likely that the Cavs simply asked Irving if he was okay with the move or if he preferred a player like Liggins, who gives the Cavs their second-best lineup in the season, to be released. Friendships and futures aside, Irving made a mature decision as Liggins and Bogut will help the team far more than McRae can in the playoffs.
Related Story: Cleveland Cavaliers Waive Jordan McRae
Do you think the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kyrie Irving made the right choice by cutting Jordan McRae? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.