Andrew Bogut Officially Signs With The Cleveland Cavaliers, What It Means For Team

The Cleveland Cavaliers have officially signed Andrew Bogut.

Andrew Bogut has officially signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers according to an official press release.

Bogut, who has averaged 10.0 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game in twelve seasons, is coming to a stacked Cleveland Cavaliers squad in championship contention. The Cavaliers, who waived Jordan McRae yesterday in a corresponding move, now have fifteen players on their roster. Bogut, who played for the Golden State Warriors in the last two NBA Finals, is going to help the Cavs give Thompson rest, control the boards and anchor the paint while being a playmaker on offense.

At 7-foot-0 and 260 pounds, Bogut is also the biggest player on the Cavs roster and he’ll use his size, skill and basketball IQ to control the paint. One of nine players with 1,000 career blocks, Bogut is joining a Cleveland Cavaliers team thin on rim-protection.

Tristan Thompson, who averages 1.1 blocks per game for the Cavs in 30.2 minutes per contest, is the team’s best rim-protector. Bogut, who played 22.4 minutes per game with the Dallas Mavericks before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers and subsequently bought out from his contract so that he could join a playoff contender, averaged 1.5 blocks per game.

Bogut also averaged 1.9 assists per game this season while Thompson averages 0.9 assists per game. Bogut will be able to find shooters from behind the line in transition as he puts the ball on the floor (think Nikola Jokic) and in the halfcourt.

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Bogut will suit up for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday as they take on the Miami Heat.

The Heat, who employ Hassan Whiteside, are the perfect team for Bogut to make his debut against as they’re not the toughest opponent but have a matchup for him to flex his muscles against. The role Bogut plays on Monday, in a second unit that also features former Dallas Mavericks teammate Deron Williams, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson, Derrick Williams and Channing Frye will be interesting.

It’s likely that Jefferson, Frye and the younger Williams will constantly shift roles in the second unit beside Bogut as they can all play power forward. Now, instead of Frye protecting the paint, Bogut can. While Bogut may leave the floor against smaller, quicker lineups. He’d be good against the bigger and more traditional power forward-center duos.

Bogut isn’t a big scorer but when he’s playing beside LeBron James or Deron Williams, expect him to attack the rim in the pick-and-roll. Bogut, like Thompson, will also get a fair share of second chance points off of rebounds. That could lead to him passing to a shooter or cutter in the halfcourt or putting a shot back up himself.

Will the addition of Bogut, after the team signed the Williams’, put the Cleveland Cavaliers over-the-top in a NBA Finals series? The Cavs have now signed a former first overall, second overall and third overall draft pick in recent weeks. All of them come off of the bench.

None of them are named LeBron (first overall pick), Kyrie Irving (first overall pick), Kevin Love (fifth overall pick) or Tristan Thompson (fourth overall pick).

Related Story: Does Tristan Thompson Give The Cleveland Cavaliers A Fearsome Foursome?

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