"Jake Lever got a five-year deal on $800,000 to $850,000[per season],very comfortable that we let him go on that money,"Ricciuto said on Triple M radio.
"He's probably a $500,000 player."
Lever,who was traded to Melbourne from the Crows at the end of the 2017 season,has been sidelined for much of his time at the Demons due to injury.
Ricciuto said McGovern,who was traded to the Blues during the 2018 trade period,had the attributes that appealed to Adelaide,but he was not worth the money he was being paid by Carlton.
"He's got what we want,we love people that contest in the forward line and[have] got plenty of speed – we need speed in the forward line – but,once again,[at] 800-and-something thousand[dollars]?
"Has he delivered for Carlton yet? No.[We're] comfortable that he went."
He said other players would have been squeezed out if the club paid to keep Keath,who moved to the Bulldogs at the end of last year.