This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Andrew Bogut’s time at Cleveland is over after 11 days, with the NBA club waiving him as expected after the Australian’s move to the defending champions to play alongside superstar LeBron James was cut short when he broke his leg 58 seconds into his debut a week ago.

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The injured Australian wished his replacement Larry Sanders good luck on Twitter after the former Milwaukee player joined the defending champions thanks to the salary cap space freed up by Bogut’s departure.



The 32-year-old will not require surgery to repair the fractured tibia and is expected to return to Australia for rehabilitation in a bid to recover in time for the 2017-18 NBA season start in October.



It has been a tough ordeal the Melburnian, who knocked back a US$3m offer from the Houston Rockets last month to take US$383,000 and seek a second NBA title ring with the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers.

When his left shin collided with Miami Heat forward Okaro White’s knee on 7 March, Bogut’s chances of becoming the first Australian to win two champions with two different clubs were all but dashed. His career reached its high point when he won the 2014-15 title with Golden State.

Bogut was brought in to give the Cavaliers championship-tested rim-protection as a back-up to starting centre Tristan Thompson, who’s workload surged with a long-term injury to fellow big man Kevin Love.



With his age and history of injuries, Bogut’s career is up in the air as he embarks on a search for a new contract for next season. The former Milwaukee, Golden State, and Dallas star has a chance to join a fifth franchise if the Cavaliers do not offer him a fresh deal for 2017-18.

Former Bucks big man Sanders has not played in the NBA since the 2014-15 season, having walked away from the game to deal with personal issues after returning positive marijuana tests.