Cleveland Cavaliers Officially Sign Deron Williams
Deron Williams officially inks deal to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers after being waived by Dallas on Feb. 23
It took longer than expected before the deal was made official, but according to the Cleveland Cavaliers, they officially signed Deron Williams on Monday for the remainder of the season.
The 32-year-old signed with Dallas at the beginning of the season on a one-year deal for $9 million; however, the Mavericks appear to be going forward with point guards Yogi Ferrell and Seth Curry, thus waiving Williams.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Williams has averaged 13.1 points, 6.9 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.4 turnovers per game this season while shooting 43 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3.
Williams has decided to tote the number 31 – or as I like to say, 3-to-1 – on his jersey for the rest of the season, upping the pettiness level of the Cleveland Cavaliers (something I thought they were maxed out at) and creating some positive fan buzz around Williams.
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His role in Cleveland will be the primary backup to All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving. In addition to his veteran presence, the Cavaliers hope he can pick up the slack that Kay Felder could not and provide a reliable 15-20 minutes per game of solid play.
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Basically, as long as he doesn’t lose any games for the Cavs, he’s doing what is asked of him.
With rumors circulating that the Cleveland Cavaliers are also in the hunt for the recently waived Andrew Bogut, they are pulling out all of the stops to ensure they have the best possible roster going into the playoffs, especially with Kevin Love being somewhat of a question mark for the next month or so due to his injury.
Williams has been a shell of his former self in recent years — someone who was a three-time All-Star for the Utah Jazz and for the (then) New Jersey Nets — but he isn’t being asked to perform on that level anymore, which should benefit both him and the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers are gearing up for the playoffs (and more so for the Golden State Warriors) and the addition of Williams — and possibly Bogut — allows the Cavs to practically go 12 players deep, an incredibly valuable asset to have as the wear and tear of the season begins to weigh heavy on the team’s stamina.
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The Cavs are in win-now mode and they managed to snag Williams without having to trade anyone or anything. If they can do the same for Bogut, it puts the Cavs in prime position to make their third straight run to the NBA Finals.