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Tim Reynolds: The No. 1 picks who have been/are teammates with LeBron James: - Shaquille O'Neal - Joe Smith - Greg Oden - Kyrie Irving - Derrick Rose - Andrew Bogut - Anthony Davis - Dwight Howard - Deandre Ayton - Allen Iverson (Olympics) - Tim Duncan (Olympics) - Anthony Edwards (Olympics)
Andrew Bogut: And what's funny about DeMarcus is like—we had a real bad... I wouldn’t say I hated him, but we had a rivalry when I was in Golden State. They were the team up the road. But when I was his teammate, he was actually a really fun guy to be around off the floor. He’s just got that “white-line fever.” He gets on the floor and it’s like—big chip on his shoulder, scowly face. But off the floor, he’s hilarious—making jokes the whole time, great vibe to be around.
In an exceptional evening, FIBA honoured several iconic figures who have left an indelible mark on the sport’s history. Among the inductees were: Pau Gasol (Spain) – Two-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers and Spain’s all-time leading scorer in EuroBasket. Mike Krzyzewski (USA) – Legendary coach known as “Coach K,” who led Team USA to three Olympic gold medals and Duke University to five NCAA titles.] Ticha Penicheiro (Portugal) – WNBA’s all-time assists leader and one of the greatest playmakers in women’s basketball. Andrew Bogut (Australia) – NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors and three-time Olympian. Dawn Staley (USA) – Three-time Olympic gold medallist and flag-bearer for Team USA at Athens 2004. Alphonse Bilé (Côte d’Ivoire) – West African basketball icon and 1981 FIBA AfroBasket champion. Ratko Radovanović (formerly Yugoslavia) – Olympic gold medallist (Moscow 1980) and 1978 FIBA World Cup winner. Leonor Borrell (Cuba) – Four-time World Cup participant and 1986 tournament top scorer.
Andrew Bogut on Draymond Green: 'What makes him great is that he plays angry'
Andrew Bogut on Draymond Green: Look, I’ve been Draymond’s teammate. What makes him great is that he plays angry. Sometimes he toes the line. Sometimes he crosses it. You’ve got the punch with Poole in practice, numerous kicks to the nuts—that kind of stuff. But that's what makes him great.
Andrew Bogut: Exactly. I don’t buy into the narrative of a PR push labeling him the “angry Black man.” He is angry. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. From the jump ball, he’s in your face. Might throw a cheap shot here and there, and if you don’t have that, you don’t have Draymond. That's what made him so tough as a teammate. And yes, he’s admitted before—just a couple seasons ago, right Pro?—that he needs to control it better. He did offseason work on it. But you also can’t act like there’s no history of over-the-top angry stuff from him.
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Andrew Bogut on Lakers free agency: Can Steven Adams start with his body over 82 games? I don't know. That's the issue. I think he's definitely got some injury issues that are going to be long term. Clint Capela is a good one. He's been relatively healthy for the most part of his career. Hasn't had any really bad injuries. Real good lob threat. Great shot blocker. That's definitely an option as well.
Andrew Bogut on Kings firing Mike Brown: They finally had a bit of success after 20 years of sh*t
Andrew Bogut on Kings firing Mike Brown: ‘That is a prime opportunity for you as an ownership group, as the GM to say, ‘you know what? Look in the rearview mirror. Look at our last 20 odd years. We've been sh*t. We have a bit of success. Some of it's because of the roster. Some of it's because of our coach. We're backing the coach.’ They should have done something like Miami does, right? ‘Sit down. Shut the f*ck up. This is our guy. You don't want to be here? We'll get you out of here.’ But at least they had something. Now Doug Christie wasn't awful. Finished the season okay, but they finally had a coach that had something to him. Gone. Michael Malone. Similar story. Gone.
Andrew Bogut: Love or hate Mike Brown, he can get in his own way sometimes reportedly, where he can be a bit hard-ass with some guys. But they finally had a bit of success. They finally had a method to the madness of the way they played. They won some games after not winning for decades plus, and then players complain that Mike Brown was too hard on them and they fire him.
Ethan Strauss: People understood that trade at the time. They understood it even more so after the success. But even at the time—it's nothing like this. It is not even close to this. This is like a category of its own—unprecedented in sports history. And I don't think any sort of slick rhetorical trick from anybody—even somebody as adroit politically as Rick Welts—is going to change how anybody views this thing. Andrew Bogut: Well, maybe if it was Steph Curry in that trade, which was offered—a lot of people don't know. Ethan Strauss: Oh yeah, you like that one. Andrew Bogut: The Bucks had the either-or. And I can confirm that 100% because—long story short—I was doing my rehab with some people in Milwaukee that were with the team. They had both the medical records. They passed pending the ankle and wanted Monta. That would have changed the course of history.
Andrew Bogut says Warriors almost traded Stephen Curry for him: 'They'll deny it, but I know it for a fact'
Didn't you see the files? Didn't you see the folder? Andrew Bogut: I saw both the folders. I was getting treatment, and I was basically told, because after it happened, I was— I'm not going to say who it was—but I was really close to someone that I was doing treatment with there for my ankle. I was already out for the season, doing rehab every day. They were like, "Yeah, it was either Monta or Steph, and we—the team—decided to go with Monta based on health." So I was like, "Alright..." But then you look at hindsight: the Warriors made this genius move and freed up for Steph Curry, and the whole narrative that followed. It could have easily gone the other way. It's a sliding door moment. They'll deny it, but I know it for a fact.
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Andrew Bogut: It was with some people who did all the medical advisory stuff before free agency or trades—you know, whenever you bring in a guy. It was that team of people. They were open about it with me. I had a good relationship with them, so they just blatantly told me: "The other option was Steph and his bad ankle. We decided to go with Monta." So I was like, "Alright."
Andrew Bogut: But yeah, it's just funny when you hear the narrative six, seven years later—you know, they're the lucky bounces you need for success. Like, this was all a genius move, we factored this in to free up [cap space], and you're like—yes, that's how it worked out. But that wasn't your initial plan. Your initial plan happened because of a bad ankle on Steph Curry that the Milwaukee Bucks were worried about at the time.
Andrew Bogut on Jonathan Kuminga: I just think he's in the wrong system. I don't think he's a ball-movement, move-off-the-ball guy that Golden State likes to play in that style. Look, it is a contrast to a lot of teams where you're basically getting the ball in the paint to get it outside for threes. You're basically looking to go misdirection a lot with Steph. But I just think he's an ISO guy, and I don't think ISO guys work in Golden State. In a lot of systems these days, ISO guys will struggle. But there are some systems where he'll fit better. I think right now he's a sixth-man bench scorer at best—but he's not that good of a scorer yet.
Andrew Bogut on Jonathan Kuminga: I know Joe Lacob loves him. Joe drafted him. Joe does have an infatuation with players he's involved with during the draft process, so I think that's a big reason why there's a push for him. I think Steve [Kerr] might see it differently, where he doesn't think Kaminga is a big rotation-minutes guy.
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