Andrew Bogut is a former No. 1 pick with NBA Finals experience, and he probably would have had more if not for a fractured tibia he suffered in his first game with the Cavaliers. He’s among several free agent big men remaining on the market who could become bargains as teams fill out their rosters.
Bogut was able to recover without surgery and has been cleared for full basketball workouts. The 12-year veteran is only 32 and believes he has a lot of productive basketball left.
“Rehab’s been good,” he told Steve Aschburner of NBA.com late last month. “I feel strong, everything feels good. But the full explosive stuff will be about another three weeks.”
Bogut was a fixture in Golden State until the Warriors got the opportunity to sign Kevin Durant. They needed to shed salary, so Bogut and his $11MM deal were sent to Dallas. He was traded to the Sixers at the February deadline, then agreed to a buyout before his ill-fated stint in Cleveland.
Bogut doesn’t fear any long-term effects from the injury, saying the bone will “heal stronger than it was before.” He and his agent have sent copies of the medical report to several teams that expressed interest in signing him.
Bogut isn’t the only notable unsigned veteran big man on the market. Here are four others:
- David Lee — The 34-year-old declined his player option after one year in San Antonio. He was a productive part of the Spurs’ rotation, averaging 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 79 games, and thought he could do better than the $2.33MM he was due to make next season. He could still return to San Antonio, although the signing of Joffrey Lauvergne may make him expendable.
- Kris Humphries — The 32-year-old saw his role decline last season with the Hawks, as his minutes dropped to 12.3 per night. Still, he was productive when he played, averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 56 games. The Hawks have launched a youth movement and renounced their rights to Humphries three weeks ago, so the veteran forward is searching for a new team.
- Lavoy Allen — The Pacers declined their $4.3MM team option on the 28-year-old last month, leaving him on the open market. The power forward/center has been part of the rotation in Indiana since arriving in a 2014 trade, but saw his playing time decline late in the season. He averaged 2.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 61 games last year.
- Roy Hibbert — An All-Star as recently as 2014, Hibbert has been with four teams over the past two seasons and is looking for someone to give him another shot. Hibbert signed with the Hornets last summer and was traded in February to the Bucks, who later sent him to the Nuggets. He played just six games in Denver, wrapping up an overall forgettable year. However, Hibbert is only 30 and will probably get an opportunity from a team in need of veteran help.
Note: Restricted free agents aren’t noted here, since they’re not free to sign with any team, but Nerlens Noel, Alex Len, and Mason Plumlee are among the noteworthy RFA bigs still on the market.
Surely Andrew Goatgut will sign the min. Would love him in Miami
Did Nerlens resign?
Feels like a big omission
Well he’s guaranteed to stay in Dallas
how’s that? he is an rfa they don’t have to match, and they could renounce. it could turn montejunas real quick
You can’t compare Noel and motiejunas. Dallas won’t let him go
Either one of the few teams with cap space offers him a contract and dallas matches, they work out a deal, or he accepts the QO.
There should have been a note mentioning that we’re not including RFAs in this series (given the lack of cap room available around the league, they’re all very likely to stay put unless they’re renounced and become UFAs). But there are definitely a handful of interesting RFA bigs left. Updated to make note of them.
Hope the Spurs resign David Lee … he did a better job for us last year than David West did the year before
would you rather have bogut or len
Bogut every day of the week
Bogut has THE veteran experience of playing in a couple NBA finals both as a winner/loser. That’s always a tough thing to pass up on. However, Len is a monster for those games you need that BIG presence in the paint. Difficult choice. So if you’re a GM you better make sure you discuss it with your coach to make sure the right one is picked up for the style of play. I could see either one as the better one.
Cavs should sign Kris Humphries and so we’d have some interesting Kardashian stories on the sideline with Tristan Thompson.
Perhaps Pops might ponder “renting” either Bogut or Hibbert for one season & “roll the dice” and see how things will turn out. OKC and Houston would also be appropriate teams to play for.
Boston would also be a good landing spot for either Bogut or Hibbert