Former No. 1 pick and NBA-champion center Andrew Bogut and one of his former teams are seemingly set for a reunion.
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reports Bogut intends to sign with the Golden State Warriors once he receives a letter of clearance from the Sydney Kings of Australia’s National Basketball League. Bogut played for the Warriors from 2012-16, winning an NBA title with them in 2015 and reaching The Finals in ’16 — a series Golden State lost.
Per Haynes, the clearing process for Bogut is expected to take 48 hours. Bogut was a standout in the ABL, winning league MVP honors last season.
Via Twitter, Charania tweeted Monday that “The Golden State Warriors have emerged as the frontrunners for Andrew Bogut, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Bogut’s representatives are working this week through letter of clearance process from Australia’s Sydney Kings.”
The Golden State Warriors have emerged as the frontrunners for Andrew Bogut, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Bogut’s representatives are working this week through letter of clearance process from Australia’s Sydney Kings.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 4, 2019
Charania reported on Sunday that “multiple contenders” were chasing Bogut, including the Philadelphia 76ers.
Multiple contenders, including Golden State and Philadelphia, are expected to express interest in upcoming free agent Andrew Bogut. His season has ended in playoffs of Australia’s NBL, where Bogut was league MVP and DPOY, and he will take some time to decide on next team.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 3, 2019
Bogut, who most recently played for the Lakers in 2017-18, is coming off a standout campaign Australia’s NBL in which he won the league’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards. Originally drafted first overall by Milwaukee in 2005, the 7-foot big man holds career averages of 9.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
He signed with the NBL last April and planned to play two seasons with the Kings, saying then there were “no outs” in his deal if an NBA team should become interested.
“Before anyone asks, no NBA outs, no European outs,” Bogut said at his news conference in 2018. “I’m committed to being here for two years … it will retire me from the NBA, I’m happy to say that today.”
After being waived by the Lakers in January of 2018, it was expected the free agent would join a contending team for a playoff push.
But Bogut said at the time he’d stay in Australia and focus on returning in the 2018-19 season. He tweeted that his wife’s pregnancy with their second child has been deemed “high-risk” and she’s not allowed to travel.
Bogut played 24 games for the Lakers after signing in September of 2017, averaging 1.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while starting five games. He was acquired by Cleveland in the second half of last season, but he fractured his left leg less than a minute into his debut with the Cavaliers. He played seven years with the Bucks before a move to Golden State, where he won an NBA championship in 2015.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
