Andrew Bogut joins NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers, moved helped by Matthew Dellavedova
Updated
Andrew Bogut's successful pursuit of a move to Cleveland may have been galvanised by a chat with Boomers team-mate Matthew Dellavedova.
Bogut is officially a Cavalier, with the reigning NBA champions confirming the Boomers centre's signature on Friday (AEDT) after a week-long trade process.
The Australian was sent from Dallas Mavericks to Philadelphia 76ers last month but opted to seek a move to a title contender.
He will earn a reported $US385,000 ($508,520) for the season, far less than $US36 million ($47.55 million) contract over three years he had with the Mavericks.
The 32-year-old big man, who won the 2014-15 NBA title with Golden State, now has a realistic chance to become the second Australian to win two championships after Luc Longley.
Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said former Cleveland guard and Bogut's compatriot Dellavedova played a role in the process.
"He (Bogut) was really tight with Matthew Dellavedova, who told him great things about the process here," Griffin told ESPN.
"So I think you'd look at it as a combination of a place he wanted to play (at), players he wanted to play with and an opportunity to perhaps go back there (NBA finals)."
Bogut, a veteran of 670 NBA games with three previous clubs, will add to a loaded Cavaliers' roster which includes superstar LeBron James and fellow All Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Bogut will give the Cavaliers a championship-tested, rim-protecting back-up to starting centre Tristan Thompson.
His former Mavericks team-mate Deron Williams has also joined the Cavaliers.
"He's really excited for the opportunity he has to be with these guys," Griffin said.
"Everybody obviously looks forward with the opportunity to play with LeBron, so I'm sure that factored pretty minorly into it as well."
AAP
Topics: basketball, sport, united-states, australia
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