Andrew Bogut left for his native Australia following the 2016-17 season, wounded by the cruel nature of the NBA after being waived by his last three teams in the span of two seasons. The Golden State Warriors initially made the decision to trade him to the Dallas Mavericks to help create enough room to sign Kevin Durant as a free agent, and while the move wound up being a boon for the championship-laden team, Bogut didn't fare so well.
The Mavs traded Bogut to the Philadelphia 76ers, who then waived him. He soon signed a minimum deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, only to see the floor a mere 56 seconds before suffering a season-ending injury. Naturally, he was waived again.
Bogut signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2016-17 upon recovering from his previous injury, but he was waived again.
With a second child on the way and no certainty that he could stick it out in the league any longer, Bogut departed to Australia's National Basketball League, where he would eventually earn MVP honors. The 7-footer thought there was no longer an NBA future in sight.
“One hundred percent, I thought I was done,” the veteran center told Ethan Strauss of The Athletic of his outlook. “When I do something, I want to be committed to it. I signed a two-year deal with no NBA outs.”
The Warriors were encouraged by the highlight clips of his MVP season overseas, seeing a rejuvenated big man on the verge of a comeback to his former rim-defending self.
“I look slimmer,” Bogut said of the comments on his highlights. “I don’t feel much different and I haven’t changed anything specific diet-wise. Honestly, man, when I go back to Australia, I introduce a whole lot more beer to my diet. So maybe that worked. I have one or two beers with the family at night.”
Bogut's fun-loving ways could inject a much-needed dose of the joy this team has lacked over the course of the last few years — likely just in time for a pivotal postseason run in the quest for a three-peat.
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