When Andrew Bogut was asked about his departure from the Warriors prior to Wednesday’s game against the Mavs in which they were trounced 116-95, he had a bone to pick.
He told USA Today that anonymous comments questioning his durability came from the many “shallow personalities” in the NBA.
“But that’s how it is,” Bogut said. I don’t buy into the sources thing. I don’t buy into all that (expletive), because this league is so two-faced and everybody is so fake. The same people who made those comments will see me tomorrow and shake my hand and ask me how my family is.”
Bogut continued to talk about the dearth of genuine people around the league:
“This league is full of people who are full of (expletive) and shallow, and that’s what you figure out in pro sports,” Bogut said. “It’s very hard to meet a genuine person who you can call your friend in this league. That’s just the reality, and I understand that.”
He qualified his comments by saying they weren’t necessarily directed at the Warriors organization just what he has encountered in his 12 years in the NBA.
He also admitted to being upset and a little bitter when he found out that he had been traded by the Warriors initially.
“I mean there’s no doubt it’s disappointing to leave one of the best teams — record-wise, those last two years. … You leave a team like that and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Bogut said. “It was bitter in a way. I wasn’t mad at anybody about it. I understood it completely. I’m not stupid.”
Although Bogut is not really off base about the nature of professional sports in general. Players and personnel are seen more as pawns or mercenaries than human beings at times, and the rumor mill is always churning. It is obvious that Bogut is a little disenfranchised and jaded about being pushed out of Golden State and has someone or a few people in mind that he is not too fond of for doubting his ability to still be a durable and effective NBA player.
