Cavaliers Notes: McRae, Bogut, Dellavedova, Williams

Second-year guard Jordan McRae expressed no bitterness on his way out the door after being waived today, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. He was released to open a roster spot for the signing of free agent center Andrew Bogut. McRae appeared in 37 games for the Cavs this season, starting four, but was only playing about 10 minutes per night. He will receive all of his nearly $1.15MM salary. “All smiles here,” McRae posted on his Instagram account. “Not a bad thing to say about any player or anybody that has anything to do with this organization. I’m proud to say I am a part of Cleveland’s first-ever NBA championship. The memories I will take with me for the rest of my life. Best of luck to this great group of guys, brothers for life love you guys. Thanks Cleveland.”

There’s more tonight out of Cleveland:

• Former Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova played a role in helping Bogut, a fellow Australian, choose Cleveland, tweets TNT analyst David Aldridge. Dellavedova, who spent three seasons with the Cavs before a sign-and-trade sent him to Milwaukee over the summer, gave a glowing recommendation to Bogut about the players and the organization.
• Deron Williams, who signed with the Cavaliers on Monday, said the defending champions were the “best fit” for him, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The veteran point guard, who committed to Cleveland after agreeing to a buyout with the Mavericks, said he considered the city when he was in a similar situation in 2015. He also cited a friendship with guard Kyle Korver, who was a former teammate in Utah. “I just feel like I’ll be comfortable here,” Williams said. “I’ll have a significant role here, with the need for a backup for Kyrie [Irving] and also being able to play with Kyrie. We get a chance to play together and of course competing for a championship is something that I haven’t had a chance to do.”
• James believes it’s too early to say whether this year’s roster is now better than last year’s, Vardon writes in a separate piece. This week’s signings of Williams and Bogut added two accomplished veterans to an already-talented team and filled the primary needs for a backup point guard and an extra big man. “Yeah, we’re pretty deep and the biggest thing is just trying to get everyone to mesh together and who plays well together and who doesn’t,” said coach Tyronn Lue.