With just one week until the start of training camp it looked as if the Los Angeles Lakers roster was pretty much set, with just one roster spot open for a few guys on partially-guaranteed contracts to compete for during camp.
One of the Lakers positions with the most depth is the center position, as they acquired former All-Star center Brook Lopez via trade this offseason.
They also have Ivica Zubac, who showed promise in limited action last season as a rookie after being drafted in the second round out of Croatia, and Thomas Bryant, a second round drafted pick this year from Indiana University.
Despite the depth at center, it appears the Lakers do not feel it was enough as according to Shams Charania of The Vertical they have agreed to a one-year contract with free agent veteran 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
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN is reporting that the deal will be partially guaranteed, so he is not guaranteed a roster spot:
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
Bogut is a former No. 1 overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in 2005. He won a championship as the starting center of the Warriors in 2015 and was a part of the 73-9 Warriors team that lost in the NBA Finals in 2016. Lakers head coach Luke Walton was an assistant and interim head coach on those Warriors teams.
Last season was a difficult one for Bogut as he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks last offseason and never quite found a home in Dallas before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in February. Philadelphia waived him just four days later and he wound up signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, hoping to have another chance at a championship. But in his first game with Cleveland though Bogut fractured his tibia, effectively ending his season.
Bogut has since recovered from the injury and in 12 seasons has averaged 10.0 points and 8.9 rebounds while being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2015 and All-NBA Third Team in 2010. If he can prove that he is healthy this preseason then he will likely earn that final roster spot, taking minutes away from the young players Zubac and Bryant.