Just when you thought there were no more deals to be made, that free agency was dead and buried, the Lakers front offices sticks their hand out the gave like Beatrix Kiddo and make another move by signing former Warrior (and Maverick and, most recently, Cavalier) Andrew Bogut.
Free agent center Andrew Bogut has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, agent David Bauman of ISE tells The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 19, 2017
Well, then.
But wait, there’s more.
Bogut's deal with Lakers is partially guaranteed, but obviously they're planning on him being a big part of the team.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) September 19, 2017
Okay…so, yeah.
Look, if you’re looking for reasons for the Lakers to sign Bogut, plenty of those exist. First, Bogut has a history with Luke Walton. He was the team’s starting center on back to back Finals teams for the Warriors when Walton was an assistant coach. The Warriors may have even won that second trip if Bogut hadn’t gotten injured (and if Draymond Green hadn’t had an affinity to hitting opponents below the belt).
Bogut is also a defensive anchor type, is an excellent passer, and, by all (most? some?) accounts, is a good teammate even if he can be outspoken and a serial truth (or at least his version of it) teller. Those former two things matter. A lot.
Especially to this Lakers’ team severely lacking in players who have defensive know how and the ability to communicate on the back line. Add in his passing chops, his screen setting (which can border on dirty and can certainly cross the line from legal to not), and his general willingness to do all the little things offensively that get exactly zero glory and you have the makings of a guy who can, in the right situation, be useful.
Now, of course, that’s a lot of qualifiers. And those are needed. Because if you’re looking for reasons why the Lakers maybe shouldn’t have made this deal, there’s plenty of those too.
First, is health. Bogut ended his brief run with the Cavaliers when he suffered a broken leg. But that was the 2nd straight season his year ended with a leg injury and, over the course of his career, he’s simply had bad injury luck. Whether you want to call him injury prone or not, he’s simply not always been available for games due to various, sometimes very serious, injuries.
Second, it’s fair to wonder how much Bogut has left as a player at this point. He’s entering his 13th season in the NBA and is 32 years old. Now, 32 isn’t necessarily old and, while the injuries can be a negative, in this case they’ve kept him off the floor for so many games it’s not like he has as many miles on his body as his experience level would imply. Still, though, as the game has become faster and more up and down, the level of contribution Bogut can provide on the court is a real question. So, maybe rephrasing this as how much he has left as a player to contribute into today’s NBA is better.
This is where re-reading Shelburne’s tweet should give you pause. Because, in an ideal world, Bogut would not be looked at as some core piece or a big part of their plans, but instead as an insurance policy big man who can play spot minutes in a pinch or serve as a mentor to some of the team’s young players. Maybe that’s what ends up happening anyway. But if it doesn’t…
Lastly, a crowded Lakers’ front-court just got even more so. Brook Lopez, Julius Randle, Larry Nance, Jr., Kyle Kuzma, Luol Deng, Ivica Zubac, Thomas Bryant. These are all players who should spend the majority of their minutes at either Center or Power Forward. Now you can add Bogut to that group. How you divide up the 96 available minutes between all of the above players at those two spots is an unknown. Clearly some of them will not play. Bryant, for example, is likely to be with the South Bay Lakers for most of the year.
Still, though, I was already trying to figure out how to get Kuzma minutes at PF this season and, to make that happen, sliding Randle and Nance up to C for significant stretches behind Lopez. Now, if Bogut takes some of those minutes, that is going to impact the remaining PF’s on the roster simply because a way to get them burn was to get creative by sliding them up to C.
In saying all that, though, Bogut is the type of veteran player the Lakers clearly want more of and so they signed him to a partially guaranteed minimum level (it’s all they have to offer) contract. The money he’s set to make and the things he can still contribute at make him a potentially good signing who can be a value add. However, the question marks that come with him via health and remaining game, plus the potential negative lineup implications give me pause.
We’ll see how this plays out in training camp and preseason. But things just got more interesting in El Segundo. If nothing else, media day will have more quotables than they projected to yesterday
L8kers24Life says
Either this is terrible news for Zubac who looked out of place in summer league or the Lakers plan on trading some bigs during the season or both.
Vasheed says
Bogut if healthy is a good center but, I just don’t see how this makes sense unless Pelinka has something else lined up?
Greg says
I feel bad for Vander Blue…can’t get a break… Unless the break is Bogut breaks something again…
A Horse With No Name says
Would it be a stretch to see this signing as a prelude to an in season trade? An expiring Brook Lopez for a deal for an up coming free agent? Other players who might be moved to relieve the glut of bigs? Or is it simply to get a skilled big man on the cheap who can mentor the likes of Zubac and Bryant? Dude might not even make the final roster . . .
dxmanners says
Don’t quite get this one. Injury prone, at the end of his career, but only one year and at a low price. Mentor? Player? Towel waver? Either way it’s bad news for Zubac and Zimmerman (yes, I think he had a shot at sticking around, still a young guy, and arguably a better passer and lane filler than Z), and Bryant. How many games will he actually play with the injury bug he’s had in recent years?
R says
Hard to see this signing mattering much.
Shelburne must be kidding.
Gizpacho says
I’m cool with this signing. The playing time problem seems larger when you think of just a one game rotation. In the span of 82 games, I think we will see a rise in the quality of basketball if the veterans and project players alternate between major burn and minor burn (or DNPs). Vets like Deng and Bogut could take some rest games. Bryant/Kuzma/Hart could all use some sit and learn games. And of course games where one or the other splits back up minutes 75/25.
Point is, with a team currently under construction (or construction by deconstruction). We cannot assume the early season rotation will look anything like the later season rotation. More quality peices means more flexibility for Walton (and the FO)
Anonymous says
Walton is familiar with Bogut from their GS days. I don’t see Bogut being anything more than a backup as his latest injury (while with the Cavs) sealed his fate as a dependable starter.
Maybe the feeling is that Bogut can help Zubac play the way Walton wants a center to play. Or that the team feels Zubac can’t be trusted to produce in life minted minutes as a back up and Bogut can. Or that without a 1st round pick to tank for the team is going all out to win as many games as they can.
Irony alert, Bogut should have been picked up last year when the Warriors were trying to clear space for Durant. If you recall Mitch didn’t pursue Bogut, even though we had space to take him, instead choosing to risk his job to overpay Mozgov.
Anonymous says
Your last paragraph just depresses me so much. What were you thinking Mitch? You of all people.
Rick in Seattle says
Totally agree with your last paragraph. If Jim & Mitch had not rushed to sign Mozgov & Deng, they had the inside track to pick up Bogut & Barnes from GS. GM’s around the league knew that Durant had narrowed his choices to GS & OKC. I never understood why Jim & Mitch were in such a rush. Unfortunately (or fortunately) both paid the price for their poor decisions.
But when I saw the news this morning that the Lakers had signed Bogut, my first thought was that there is a possible trade coming. Only later did I see the news that Lopez has a minor back injury (which had been kept very quiet). And that injury is likely the main reason for the signing.
Bogut was a starter on GS previous title team. He clearly knows the Walton system. and could be really good bench mentor for Zubac & Bryant. Perhaps Zubac was not ready to be the backup they originally hoped for. But, it probably dictates that Bryant will spend more time in the G-league.
But there is another possibility. As Horse suggests, this signing could help make a mid-season Lopez trade much easier, if a trade for a major player were being contemplated. But I would hope that the team gives Lopez a decent chance to make the team permanently. He has the skills and 3-pt shooting to be a good contributor in Walton’s system.
If Cleveland is now considering a possible trade for Lebron, would they be interested in a package built around Lopez? Or, if New Orleans is worried about a Cousins departure, would they be interested? Interesting possibilities!
Anonymous says
Maybe the Lakers are going to include Zubac in a deal to dump Deng.
drrayeye says
Very surprising–very interesting. Suggest more of a role for veterans than most might have thought. Much needed rim protector and defensive presence–if he can stay healthy.
James Katt says
All that matters is winning a championship.
And if Bogut helps take us along that path, so be it.
Artemis says
I think this is a decent pickup. Especially for the like of Zubac and Bryant. They can learn defensive and screen setting basics from someone that’s actually good at both. Lopez while an offensive force can be average when it comes to defense. Bryant was never going to be playing regular minutes for the Lakers this season. He’s in the same boat as Zubac and Clarkson were, playing major minutes for the South Bay Lakers and if he impresses, he gets promoted up. As for Kuzma, I’m now 100% confident that he’s going to be first choice back-up SF, and a fill-in at PF if there are injuries/rest scenarios.
adamv37 says
I don’t really like this signing with an already crowded front court but it makes sense overall. With the partial guarantee, the Lakers will have an asset and some flexibility for trades during the season. As far as his role on the team… If he’s still the same Bogut we saw on the Warriors, I think he’ll be a solid rotation player and positive locker room presence. I would say he gives the Lakers 2 or 3 more wins on the season being a defensive anchor off the bench. Zu is really going to have to earn minutes this season and prove he’s got a bright future or he might be a throw in as part of a trade. With the roster basically set now, I can’t wait to see how this season plays out!
TempleOfJamesWorthy says
While I am surprised by this move, I consider it a very low-risk transaction.
If Bogut proves to be healthy enough to be a strong contributer, that’s great. The “downside” of the Lakers various other C/PFs struggling to fiind minutes is a worthwhile “cost.” It’s unclear anyway which of those players will still be here next season and who will be sacrificed for The Great 2018 Dual Max-Contract Free Agent Signings.
An additional possible upside to the Bogut signing is, if he proves healthy and valuable, the Lakers might be able to flip him around the trade deadline to a contending team for a young asset or draft pick. IIRC, Kyle Kuzma is a Laker today because the Lakers signed veteran gunner Lou Williams and traded Williams to Houston.
If Bogut doesn’t work out, then the Lakers lose a little money, and the crowded frontcourt rotation becomes a bit less crowded, hopefully with the remaining players having learned a bit about the game from Bogut.
Anonymous says
Regarding Bogut — doubt the trade scenarios are really viable. Who trades anything of value for him during the season? So that can’t be the plan. It’s either:
1) Bogut is a cheap insurance policy/practice player ala MWP. With his injury history its hard to see the team going all in with Bogut as a rotation player.
2) The Lakers are going to move Lopez and want a vet to team with Zubac on the block. I don’t put much credence in this scenario because I think the Lakers want to win this year and moving their best veteran player is not the way to do that. Plus Bogut is a risk as a backup (see point 1 above).
Rick in Seattle says
Yes, but mid-season injuries are common. If other teams come calling, Bogut could return a low 1st or high 2nd rd pick (assuming he and Lopez remain healthy).. Agree that Bogut is an inexpensive insurance policy & potentially a good mentor for Zubac & Bryant.
But, your second option intrigues me more, because if a major player trade were to be made mid-season (think Lebron), having some high value trade pieces would be important. And Lopez’s $22.6 mil expiring contract could be extremely useful.
As I mentioned earlier, this signing took me by surprise–as it did most fans. If anyone, I was expecting a wing player. But, perhaps Bogut is why the FO did not sign Shabezz M. Walton appears to have a comfort level with Bogut, and at the veterans minimum, it’s a low risk signing.
SamSinister says
Crud:
“Lopez, 29, has been remarkably durable in recent years, appearing in at least 72 games four out of the past five seasons. However, he has dealt with back issues this summer that could cause him to miss part of the preseason.”
http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/18/andrew-bogut-to-sign-1-year-deal-with-lakers/
lil pau says
Well, so much for positionless basketball…
When I first read this, after I got over my (mild) shock, my first reaction was that I recalled reading a couple of articles this summer that suggested that, after Ingram, the most asked about player on the lakers roster in terms of potential trades was Zu.
To those ends, I see this move largely as a way of providing flexibility should the right Zu + X or Lopez + Y trade come along and I don’t think it’s outrageous to consider that the lakers might have a very good idea of what that trade looks like (and when it can be executed) in their heads right now.
Finally, I have no idea what the usually reliable R Shelbourne is talking about, but there is no way Bogut will be a ‘big part of the team’ assuming ‘bigness’ is measured by any metric other than how much space he takes up on the plane or how many eggs benedict he guzzles down at the hotel breakfast.
Joseph says
Lakers clearly want more of and so they signed him to a partially guaranteed minimum level (it’s all they have to offer) contract.
Correction, the Lakers haven’t used their $4.3 million Room Exception. They still have that available beyond the minimum level.
Fern says
Um, i just read a report that Looez is having back issues and might miss at least part of the preseason. So there’s that…
Robert Fisher says
With or without Bogut – I still see Kyle Kuzma getting time backing up Ingram.
Brian says
Doesn’t this signing really tell us that the Lakers weren’t comfortable entering the season with Zubac as their primary backup center? Between his disappointing summer league performance and workouts in El Segundo, they must not like what they are seeing. Beyond that, I have a feeling the rotation will sort itself out based on who is healthy and playing well. Competition is a good thing, and if Bogut somehow stays healthy, I can see him as a solid contributor off the bench, shoring up the defense and facilitating the style of play the team wants to see from the second unit. There’s very little downside and significant upside to this move.
Ed says
It seems the Lakers want a backup big and don`t think Zu or Bryant is ready for that role this year,plus if Lopez is injured they want to start a big vet rather than go small.
KevTheBold says
Low risk, with potential rewards,.. Not a bad day at the office.
Travis Y. says
Great move by the front office. After watching Summer League, it’s apparent that Zubac isn’t ready. Same can likely by said of Zimmerman and Robinson. This is a man’s league and expecting quality defense and minutes from young players is a recipe for disaster…if these last 5 years have shown us anything.
To prevent us from falling down this path, we have signed low risk veterans on 1 year deals to help us right the ship. We know the plan is to try and get two max free agents next off season. We’ve been patient, trying to develop the young guys, but settling for mediocrity is no longer acceptable.
Out There says
Well if Lopez’s back issues linger through the year that at least lessens the concern many of us had that the team would look to resign him next summer.
The only big worth going after in free agency is Cousins.