Playoff-bound NBA teams reach out to Bogut for one final stint
A number of playoff-bound teams have once again expressed interest in signing Sydney Kings star Andrew Bogut on a short-term stint after the NBL season finishes. He opens up on his plans in his exclusive column.
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I would definitely consider another stint in the NBA this season like I did last year with the Golden State Warriors.
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to go back to the Warriors where I won a championship in 2015 and created so many lifetime friendships and memories.
It’s why I’m considering going back again this season after a few NBA franchises that will most likely be in the top four in their respective conferences have reached out to me.
A lot can happen between now and then but it’s definitely exciting to receive the interest.
I will, however, need to weigh up whether it is worth putting my body through an extra three months leading into potentially my last Olympic campaign in Tokyo.
I’m 35 years old, I’ve played more basketball than ever the past few years, with no real breaks, and, to be honest, I’m just trying to manage it as best as I can.
In saying that, I haven’t been hurt in the NBL where I’ve missed a game. Not to say that, like most professional athletes, I have definitely played through a few injuries.
I’ve rested for the game against the Breakers and could potentially be rested for a few more coming up, but we’ll see how that all plays out.
I think we learnt the hard way last season when we put so much emphasis on every game during the regular season.
We kind of had to, given where we were at the season before and finishing down the bottom, and with the added pressure of a bolstered roster.
But, if you are building a championship roster and mentality, there are going to be times when you might rest a guy who doesn’t want to rest. You might tone back certain guys’ minutes throughout the season. Same with training sessions. This all a part of the puzzle.
In the grand scheme of things, the rest and player management can win you a championship.
I’m not going to lie and say that I feel fantastic — I’m 35 with a long injury list — but it is just a matter of doing things away from the court like I always have. Some fun, some not. Ice baths, massage, pool sessions, physio and acupuncture, just to name a few.
As for my future beyond this season, my goal was always to play at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and then I’ll reassess after that.
For now, I’m focused on helping the Kings compete for this year’s NBL championship.
We are first at the moment, but I think this year’s league is one of the closest races in NBL history. It is pretty hard for most to pick a winner right now.
Perth is tough, due to its home-court advantage, which is the best in the league. The Wildcats sell that place out, it is loud and it is a great atmosphere. They also play a very disciplined style of basketball with one of the best scorers in the NBL, Bryce Cotton, leading the way.
Melbourne United is still there in fourth and Cairns can beat anyone on any given night.
A couple of weeks ago the league’s unpredictability was on show when we lost to Illawarra and Perth lost to Brisbane. I believe, at the time, that was 1 vs. 9 and 2 vs. 8. Most games are pretty hard to call.
Right now, the focus for us at the Kings is on us.
We know that other teams are loading up and making tweaks, which is what you want.
It always boggles my mind when clubs out there criticise other clubs for making roster changes, much like they did when we signed Xavier Cooks.
I am all for it. If any club in the league makes positive changes to their roster to make their team better, it will only make the league and competition better.
I definitely had a chuckle when Perth signed Miles Plumlee. Why? Because their head coach Trevor Gleeson was shouting from the roof tops in regards to our salary cap only a few weeks ago when we signed Xavier Cooks.
Trevor goes a great job of the “us against the world” gospel out west. There’s no doubting it has worked.
I just think when any club does its due diligence and signs a player that no other team is looking at, kudos to the front-office to swing that.
I think the more marquee signings and great talents that the NBL can attract, the better it will be for the league. I, for one, won’t knock Perth for figuring out how to sign a former NBA player who was making US$12.5 million dollars last season.
Another item which is quickly becoming old in the NBL and certain NBL commentators is trying to create controversies through individual match-ups.
I noticed this has started now that Miles Plumlee has signed in Perth.
I could not give two shits about individual match-ups.
If we win the game and my opponent has 20 points and 20 rebounds, that is fantastic for them.
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I’m not worried because we won.
He can have 20 and 20 every night of the week as long as my team wins.
I’m not playing to prove myself individually and get stats.
That is just a losing battle, and very much a loser mentality. Unfortunately, we are paid and judged by our individual stats at times, which does skew things massively.
At times, certain commentators in the league promote individual match-ups to try to attract attention and controversy.
As I said, I couldn’t care. Basketball is a team sport and for the Kings to win a championship we need a well-balanced attack.
That is the beauty of our team, especially this season.
My focus is doing my job and, as long as we win, then I’m a happy man.
I was happy to be a big part of the roster that we’ve built at the Kings. I was involved in that with coach Will Weaver and CEO Chris Pongrass and their open communication with all the players was well respected.
We have many players who have stepped up this year.
Some games I have only played 10-15 minutes, especially when my backup Daniel Kickert is rolling. Once again, this is fine!
I think our roster is really well balanced, especially at the defensive end. We have a bunch of dogs who are not scared to take hits.
We are not buying too much into the fact that we are the first team in NBL history to lead the league from round 1-15.
We had a lull about three weeks ago where we were absolutely awful and, to be honest, we needed that adversity.
We needed to feel like we aren’t as good as some people thought we were.
I would have hated to have gone 27-1 going into the finals because we wouldn’t have ironed out those kinks.
Coach Weaver did a great job of keeping us balanced throughout that process of losing some games.
He does a fantastic job at communicating what he wants and guys are never going into a game questioning what we need to do as a team.
Weaver’s approach will go a long way to helping us achieve our championship goal this season.