Breaking up is hard to do, but the Golden State Warriors made sure their divorce from Andrew Bogut went as amicably as possible.
Golden State needed to dump the remaining $12.6 million on his contract to help make room for Kevin Durant. And though there were no shortage of teams who would have absorbed the final year of his deal, especially in this cap climate, the Warriors apparently gave him the option of being traded to the Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
The Warriors gave Andrew Bogut the option of choosing between Dallas and Houston as his trade destination, according to league sources. The Rockets were willing to make the same deal that the Mavs made to get the big man from Golden State. Philadelphia also showed heavy interest, but the Warriors felt they owed it to Bogut to send him to a team with realistic playoff hopes.
Pause.
The Philadelphia 76ers actually showed “heavy interest” in trading for Bogut? When they already have five high-end prospects, in Ben Simmons, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor and Dario Saric, who are 6’10” or taller? LOLOLOLOL.
Unpause
It was a classy move by the Warriors to give Bogut at least some say in where he ended up. He will be a free agent next summer no matter what, so wherever he ended up could have proved temporary. But he and the Warriors won a championship together. He was an integral part of a 73-win team’s defensive approach. Even if the Warriors were over his injuries and absences, they had a mutually beneficial relationship with him. Getting his input on this departure, particularly under these circumstances, was key if they didn’t want to burn any bridges.
Bogut, for his part, chose correctly. The Rockets may end up being the better team, but there’s no guarantee he would have played in front of Clint Capela. The size-starved Mavericks can promise him more minutes and a bigger role—assurances that Bogut was wise to exploit as he prepares for a contract year.
