The Cleveland Cavaliers could emerge as the dominant favorites to win the 2017 NBA championship with two recent developments.
The Cavs have recently signed Deron Williams who will now take on the back-up point guard role. The former All-Star is nowhere near his old form but he is good enough to provide quality minutes as relief for Kyrie Irving.
While the Cavaliers, specifically LeBron James called out for a reserve playmaker, they also had a definite need in the paint. The Cavs lacked a true center who can help protect the rim. Recent reports from ESPN indicate that they had found one in a familiar but formerly not-so-friendly face.
"In-demand center Andrew Bogut has committed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers upon clearing waivers Wednesday night." Marc Stein reported.
"Bogut's agent, David Bauman, confirmed his client's decision by phone in the wake of ESPN's initial report and says Bogut is scheduled to fly to Cleveland this week to prepare for a likely debut with the Cavs next week."
Bogut's agent gave some interesting insights on their decision:
"It was a methodical process," Bauman told ESPN. "He wanted to talk to all the teams and he wanted to make sure he understood the role [in each situation].
"It was a lot closer than Andrew thought going into the process. As of this morning he wasn't sure what to do. He had a great talk last night, for example, with [Celtics coach] Brad Stevens."
Bogut and Williams became teammates with the Dallas Mavericks and will now reunite in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, another development could give the Cavs yet another advantage although this is probably not what anyone would hope for.
Kevin Durant left the game against the Washington Wizards in an apparent injury. Details from the Washington Post.
"Durant was injured less than a minute into the game, during a sequence in which Marcin Gortat was called for an offensive foul for throwing Warriors center Zaza Pachulia to the ground, causing Pachulia to roll into Durant's leg. He immediately reacted in pain, and after attempting to stay in the game for a bit, came out of the game at 10:26 and quickly limped to the locker room," the report stated.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr still has no conclusive findings as he bared with reporters: "We'll know more tomorrow. We'll just wait and see and keep our fingers crossed."
The Post also noted that "while Durant left the court under his own power, he did so while holding his knee and wincing at every step, and was accompanied by David West, a team security guard and a trainer."