The Los Angeles Lakers released center Andrew Bogut Saturday, a player who has been linked to the Boston Celtics for years now.
WBZ Radio’s Adam Kaufman reacted best to the breaking news on his Twitter account.
Here we go again… #bogut https://t.co/iWi3lpsMKy
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) January 6, 2018
Kaufman’s tweet comes in preparation for the numerous questions he and others who cover the Celtics will receive about whether or not the team should move to sign Bogut.
Boston has the all the resources to do so: an open roster spot and an $8.4 million Disabled Player Exception (DPE) from Gordon Hayward’s injury. However, just because the Celtics can sign him, does not mean they should.
Bogut has now twice spurned the Celtics’ interest in him, once mid-way through last season after he was bought out by the Dallas Mavericks and instead chose to join the Cleveland Cavaliers, and again this offseason when he decided to join the Lakers. This is not about hurt feelings though, Boston has both business and basketball reasons to steer clear of the Aussie big man.
Yes, the Celtics could use front court help, but they do not need it from Bogut. It is unclear whether or not he could even give them a worthwhile boost if the front office brought him aboard.
The 33-year-old struggled to earn time on the court for a struggling Lakers squad, averaging just nine minutes per contest. When he did see the floor Bogut was nothing special either.
He posted per game averages of 1.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks through 24 games with the team. By comparison, Boston’s current reserve big, Daniel Theis, is getting just five more minutes on the floor and has played in almost twice as many games (40) as Bogut, but is producing 4.7 points, 4.1 boards, and 0.7 blocks. At 25 years-old, Theis is also considerably younger than Bogut, so it makes little sense for the Celtics to cut his minutes by bringing in an older and less productive player.
If the Celtics want to improve their depth in the front court there are plenty of better options to explore.
The Phoenix Suns’ Greg Monroe and the Dallas Mavericks’ Nerlens Noel are both younger, having better statical seasons, and could be available from buyout agreements later in the season. Noel’s current $4.1 million contract expires at the end of the season, meaning he qualifies for Boston to use their DPE to trade for him if they do not want to wait for Dallas to buy him out.
Just to get ahead of this: No, you should not expect the #Celtics to sign Andrew Bogut.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) January 6, 2018
The Celtics have better options out there than Andrew Bogut. He should be considered a last resort option, if at all.
One Response
I agree with your argument about Bogut especially so that twice he spurned the Celtics interest in him meaning he is not interested to play for Boston.Better take Monroe or Noel if they would be available.