Cavaliers Officially Sign Derrick Williams for Rest of Season

The Cleveland Cavaliers signed Derrick Williams for the remainder of the 2016-17 season after his second 10-day contract expired on Saturday, the team announced.

The Vertical's Shams Charania first reported the news on March 1. Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal confirmed Charania's report.

Charania's colleague Bobby Marks provided a look at how Williams' new contract will break down financially:

Williams made his Wine and Gold debut on Feb. 9, and he made a positive impression off the bat with 12 points in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The former No. 2 overall pick kept his solid bench stylings up two games later when he registered 13 points and six rebounds in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Now eight appearances into his tenure with the defending champions, Williams is averaging 10.5 points and 3.4 rebounds on 55.8 percent shooting from the field—including 37.5 percent from three—in 24.9 minutes per game.

Williams' energetic approach off the bench immediately earned rave reviews, with LeBron James among his biggest supporters.

"He's 25 years old," James said, per Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. "It doesn't seem like it because we've been hearing his name for so long. But he's 25, he hasn't even gotten to his potential, to his prime yet. So hopefully this group, this locker room, myself, my leadership—just want to see him grow every day, and it's a good place for him."

Power forward Kevin Love also heaped praise on Williams shortly after he arrived in Northeast Ohio.

"He can play multiple positions, you saw him handling the ball tonight, he can run the floor, he can jump, he can shoot the ball," he said after a Feb. 11 win over the Denver Nuggets, per Fedor. "Just a lot of things he can do and with this veteran group and I think he's only going to take steps in the right direction."

Now locked in to a long-term stint with the Cavs, Williams will have a chance to compete for a title and provide the Cavaliers with defensive versatility, supplementary scoring and transition fuel as Cleveland aims for back-to-back championships.

And with Love (knee scope) scheduled to be sidelined through March, Williams should be called upon plenty to pick up the slack and keep the Cavs offense humming as the regular season winds down.