He may have been traded to the Dallas Mavericks as part of the moves done by the Golden State Warriors to free up salary cap space to sign Kevin Durant, but for Andrew Bogut, his present situation is turning out to be better than he expected.
Even if he's still playing out the previous contract he signed when he was with the Warriors, the 7-foot Australian is slated to earn more this season because of the lower state tax in Texas. The house he purchased in Dallas is even bigger than the one he had in the Bay Area, but cost him just the same.
When it comes to the dynamics of his current squad, he'll get a chance to play a larger role especially on offense, together with Dirk Nowitzki and former teammate Harrison Barnes in the Mavericks' frontcourt. Bogut can revitalize his career under head coach Rick Carlisle‘s tutelage and become more than just a serviceable big man, which has been his calling card the past couple of years.
Speaking to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, the 31-year-old talked about what he thinks of his new team and city, and how much the people have made him feel welcomed there:
“From what I’ve seen so far I love it, it’s much more suited to me as a person. I like California. But Texas, just the people here and the mentality’s a little slower probably than California with the every-day helter-skelter life. Whereas here it’s a little bit different culturally, in a good way. I wouldn’t say California or Texas is better. For myself, it feels like just a cool city. I like it. There’s a lot of good places to go. I didn’t realize how big the Dallas-Fort Worth area is. There’s a lot to do here, a lot of good restaurants and good cafes, a lot of nice people.
“When I first got here I couldn’t believe how nice the people were. People who didn’t even know who I was, just talking. ‘Hello. How are you? How’s your day?’ when you go into a shop. You just don’t hear that anymore. I guess it’s kind of that Texas mentality. I tweeted about it and some people were like, ‘You’re crazy, it never happens,’ but I experienced the first three, four days I was here. People were very nice to me. If I can be here long term, yeah, I’d love to.”
Dallas has definitely left a good first impression on Bogut and when asked what he thinks of the Mavericks and if he he'd consider staying with the team in the long run, he had this to say:
“I’d love to be here. The organization is first class. (Mark Cuban is) a great owner. Passionate and wants to win. From everything that I’ve seen, if it remains this way throughout the season, it’s sensational. But as you know, things can change throughout a year.”
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