Mike Dunleavy

Cleveland Cavaliers Mike Dunleavy has been impressed with his new team after first few days of practice.

(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Mike Dunleavy, one of the new members of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has only been with the reigning NBA champions for a few months. But it hasn't taken him long to see what makes the group so special.

It goes beyond the bounty of talent.

"Pretty humble group for coming off winning a championship and going to the Finals two years in a row," Dunleavy said following Thursday's practice, his third with his new teammates. "They like to joke around and have a good time, but when it gets down to doing work they're serious, put the time in and you don't always see that with teams.

"I've been on a lot of teams where guys come and go, show up five minutes before practice and leave right after. We have our best players here an hour and a half early and stay an hour and a half late. Quite honestly, that's kind of new to me."

Dunleavy, a 15-year NBA veteran, spent the last three years in Chicago, playing alongside Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Jimmy Butler. Dunleavy helped the Bulls reach the playoffs his first two seasons, but Chicago collapsed under new head coach Fred Hoiberg last season, leading to rumors of discontent in the locker room, finger-pointing, questionable work ethic from Rose and a roster overhaul.

"I found out D-Wade was going to Chicago so at that point I knew I was going to have to get traded and things were up in the air for me for a few hours because I didn't really know where I was going," Dunleavy said. "Finally got a phone call from the Bulls telling me I was coming to Cleveland."

With the Bulls needing to clear enough cap space for Wade's massive contract, the Cavaliers quickly showed interest in the sweet-shooting veteran.

Armed with a trade exception from an earlier deal with Milwaukee involving point guard Matthew Dellavedova, the Cavs were able to absorb Dunleavy's contract while also including the rights to forward Albert Miralles.

"Couldn't have worked out any better for in terms of what I'm looking for at this stage of my career," Dunleavy said. "Just really happy about it and looking forward to rocking and rolling this year."

It couldn't have worked out much better for Cleveland either. The Cavs are always in search of versatility and Dunleavy can play multiple positions. They also seek outside shooters, guys capable of making opponents pay for committing too many bodies to slowing down Kyrie Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love.

"Gives us great shooting," head coach Tyronn Lue said. "Dunleavy over the last two years I think is shooting 52 percent on open shots. He's a guy who can straight-line drive and then when he gets to the basket he'll make a play or make a pass. Defensively he's always in the right spots.

"I talked to Thibs (former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, now in Minnesota) about him. He's an underrated defender because he's a great team defender and whatever you do, he's always going to be in the right spot or the right place. I just think when you're playing with guys like Kyrie, Kevin and LeBron, you can get all those you want. If you can shoot the basketball, you can be very valuable."

Dunleavy, 36, averages 11.5 points on 44.1 percent from the field, including 37.6 percent from 3-point range in his career.

He's coming off the worst statistical season since his rookie year in 2002-03, as he averaged 7.2 points on 41 percent from the field, including 39.4 percent from beyond the arc during an injury-riddled season. He missed the first 49 games with a back injury that still requires plenty of maintenance, especially at this point of his career. He has only played a full 82-game season three times.

"I feel good. Last year at this time was not so good. But I got that behind me," Dunleavy said. "I feel great, a whole lot better than I did last year. Looking forward to a healthy season."

James has long admired Dunleavy. The four-time MVP even spearheaded the Cavs' effort to sign Dunleavy in the summer of 2015, before the veteran re-upped with the Bulls.

After numerous matchups against him, James will finally get his wish this season.

"He has a lot left," James said. "We wouldn't have reached out to him if he didn't have anything left. He has a high basketball IQ, he comes from a basketball pedigree family and over the course of his career, he just played winning basketball wherever he's been, all the way back from going to high school, to going to Duke, to the teams he's played with in the NBA. And he's a great locker room guy too, just a true professional. So, it's great to have him."

Dunleavy rebuffed the Cavaliers once, believing familiarity with the Bulls was the best choice. It didn't work out as expected, as he was expendable one year later, monitoring the off-season activity and wondering where his future would take him.

But he's in Cleveland now, excited to be playing on a title contender, for a coach who has a "great understanding of the game" and he's willing to do whatever the team asks.

"It all worked out," Dunleavy said. "Made my rounds around the Central Division here and figured at some point I was going to make it to Cleveland."