On the 2nd of March, 2016, the Cavaliers finalized a deal to sign Andrew Bogut, who had just been bought out from the Dallas Mavericks and waived by Philadelphia, was seeking a role in a championship contender. The Cavaliers quickly jumped on the idea of having one of the best rim protectors in the league on their team, reaching out to Andrew. Ex-Cavalier Matthew Dellavedova and new-Cavalier Deron Williams were two players who reached out to Andrew Bogut about signing with the Cavaliers, and both players helped Bogut make up his mind about joining the defending champions.

The Cavaliers got what they wanted, a rim protector. Plus, a guy who can be a valuable playmaker, and give Cavs big men some time to rest. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from here.

Season ending injury

Before the Australian center could even score his first points as a Cavalier, Andrew Bogut succumbed to the misfortune of an injury. He sustained a left tibia fracture after colliding with Miami Heat forward Okaro White less than two minutes into his debut game. Andrew and teammates instantly knew something bad happened when Bogut went down, and soon after the Cavaliers reported that he will be out for a few months, confirming it would be a season ending injury.

The replacement

After the news that Cavaliers newest signing will be out for the remainder of the season, Cavs GM David Griffin got to work, looking into a replacement at the center position, which has proven to be a weak area for the Cavaliers.

A man the Cavaliers had already been in contact with, and had worked out recently, Larry Sanders, was the main guy the Cavs looked at. His size, length, athleticism and overall defensive abilities enlightened the Cavs GM. The Cavaliers then decided to waive Andrew Bogut to make room to sign Larry Sanders. The Cavaliers plan to start Sanders off in the D-League affiliated team, as he has not played professional basketball in over two years, to get Larry at the form he needs to be.

Andrew Bogut wishes Larry well

Andrew Bogut took to Twitter the day of his release from the Cavaliers. He notified Larry Sanders that he will be watching and supporting him, and let the people know he has no hard feelings for the decision the Cavs organization had to make. His tweet stated:

While a lot of Cavalier fans will miss the chance to see Bogut, I'm sure many are excited with the signing of Larry Sanders.
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