CLEVELAND _ Andrew Bogut had barely set foot in Cleveland Clinic Courts and Le�Bron James had already pranked him.
The 7-foot Australian wasn't able to participate in the Cavaliers' Monday shootaround because his work visa was still being processed. But Bogut's jersey was ready, and it bore the number 6.5.
Bogut was unaware that James wears Bogut's No. 6 during practice.
"LeBron got me already. I thought it was 65 at first," Bogut said before Monday night's game against the Miami Heat at Quicken Loans Arena. "I didn't really pay any attention to it. It was early in the morning, I just got to Cleveland a couple days ago, so I'm still a bit weary. Someone mentioned the point. It was a good joke. I have to get him back."
The Cavs needed another rim protector and signed Bogut, a former Dallas Maverick, on Thursday. The Golden State Warriors sent Bogut to the Mavericks in the offseason, then he was dealt again at the trade deadline to the Philadelphia 76ers. Bogut's agent worked out a buyout so he could be waived.
"It was a tough decision," Bogut said. "It came down to two teams, Boston and Cleveland. 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."
But Bogut admitted facing the Cavs in two consecutive Finals and losing last year complicated matters.
"It was a tough decision, in a way, because of the history, but I can't control it," he said. "I got traded, so I ended up having the luxury of having four or five teams recruit me, which is a nice thing to have. But at the end of the day, I thought Cleveland was the best chance."
Asked if he was conflicted about joining the enemy, Bogut, 32, said, "At the start, maybe. Besides all the crap I caught on Twitter and the death threats and all that kind of stuff, it's a business."
As for his visa issue, Bogut said it has to be reprocessed every time he changes teams and he had to provide his contract with the Cavs to show why he was changing jobs.
"I came to the facility and they were like, 'You can't go right now, you have immigration issues,' " Bogut said. "So I called Vladimir Putin and got it done."
