Andrew Bogut's life as a Cleveland Cavalier appears to be over barely after it began, with the big Australian needing to be helped from the court with a fracture to his left leg.
Bogut had only been on the court for 58 seconds in his first game with his new team against the Miami Heat on Tuesday (AEDT), when his left leg clipped Okaro White's right leg in an awkward collision early in the second quarter.
Bogut, a former No.1 draft pick, came off second best and was left grimacing in pain on the sidelines before being carried into the rooms by two teammates, unable to put weight on the leg.
He told Cavs staff on the sidelines that he believed his leg was broken and the franchise released a statement later in the day confirming his worst fears.
"Initial x-rays and evaluation at The Q (Quicken Loans Arena) revealed a fractured left tibia," it read.
"Bogut was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for further imaging and evaluation and additional updates will be made as they become available."
Bogut was seen as a major piece of the Cavs' push for back-to-back titles, with the reigning champions going on a recent recruiting spree that saw them pick up Kyle Korver, Deron Williams and Bogut to bolster their squad depth.
The 32-year-old played with the Golden State Warriors against the Cavaliers in the last two NBA Finals series, winning the 2015 title and losing in 2016.
Bogut spent most of this season playing for the Dallas Mavericks. He was traded by the Mavericks to the Philadelphia 76ers last week before negotiating a contract buyout and then joining NBA champions Cavaliers.
The Melbourne native has long history of injury problems with just 671 career games to his credit at an average of 56 per season.
Andrew Bogut carried off floor 2 minutes into Cavaliers career with leg injury pic.twitter.com/p3Hkx9iJyE??? Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) March 7, 2017
Andrew Bogut collides with Okaro White.
Before the match the 213cm centre said he was excited to join a team with a legitimate shot at another title.
"It was a tough decision," Bogut said. "It came down to two teams, Boston and Cleveland, and I decided to go with Cleveland, obviously.
"It's the best opportunity to try to win a championship playing with one of the best, if not the best, players to play the game," he said of joining LeBron James.
"It was a tough decision, in a way, because of the history but I can't control it. I got traded so I ended up having the luxury of having four or five teams recruit me.
"But at the end of the day, I thought Cleveland was the best chance."
Bogut was only cleared to play against the Heat at the last minute, having had minor via issues to sort.
Initial x-rays and evaluation on Andrew Bogut revealed fractured left tibia; was taken to Cleveland Clinic for further imaging & evaluation.??? Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG) March 7, 2017
After it was announced he had been cleared, stand-in Cavs coach Larry Drew had indicated Bogut might not enter the game at all.
"It's obvious he doesn't know any of the things that we're doing from an offensive and defensive standpoint," Drew said earlier.
"I'm not quite sure yet whether I'll use him or not."
MORE TO COME
with AAP
