The Los Angeles Lakers signed Andrew Bogut over the offseason in order to give them a steady veteran on an otherwise young roster, and to provide solid minutes in the frontcourt from a player with experience playing under head coach Luke Walton.
Bogut didn’t play a huge role for the team, averaging just 9.4 minutes per game and averaging 1.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, but Walton spoke glowingly of the experience Bogut imparted on the Lakers’ younger players and the lack of mistakes he makes.
He won’t be playing any role for the Lakers moving forward, as the team reportedly will release Bogut so he can be put in position to join a contender, according to Shams Charania of the Vertical:
Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are releasing center Andrew Bogut. With Lakers at 11-27, this allows sides to part ways and Bogut to pivot toward signing with a playoff team.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2018
Bogut had recently mostly fallen out of the Lakers’ rotation, not playing in the team’s last two games after first being supplanted in the starting lineup by Julius Randle. With Brook Lopez’s return from injury crowding the frontcourt even further, the team and Bogut evidently decided it would be mutually beneficial for both sides to part ways.
With Bogut gone, the Lakers’ minutes at center will likely continue to go to Lopez and Randle. The move could also create minutes and opportunities for younger centers, Thomas Bryant and Ivica Zubac, to find a role in the team’s rotation rather than spending so much time in the G League.