Curry Confirms Imminent Andrew Bogut Arrival Ahead Of Warriors vs. Celtics Clash

Stephen Curry has all but confirmed the imminent arrival of Andrew Bogut, who will return to the NBA after a one-year hiatus. He is expected to join the Golden State Warriors in the coming days, with the teams now only waiting for the clearance from his current employers, the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).

The 34-year-old veteran center emerged on the radar of NBA teams after an impressive showing in his homeland where he was named the NBL’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and best defensive player, after averaging 11.8 points per game and also recording 329 rebounds, 98 assists, and 77 blocked shots.

The Warriors are keen to add him for the final 17 games of the regular season and the post-season playoffs. Bogut was part of the team that won the NBA championship in 2015 and the one that lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Curry, who is looking to win his fourth title with the Bay Area team, revealed that he was excited to welcome back a player who was instrumental in making the Warriors a “championship caliber team." He revealed that there were a couple of steps remaining before Bogut’s arrival became official, but he is certain that the Australian will help their chances of retaining the NBA title this season.

“It’s so exciting, weird, blast from the past,” Curry told reporters ahead of the Warriors’ game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, as quoted on Fox Sports.

“Obviously, I know they’ve got a couple more steps before it’s official, but he’s a guy that we have a lot of experience with. He knows our system, he knows how we do things around here. He was instrumental in that turnaround to become a championship caliber team.

“The fact that he’s doing what he’s doing in Australia [means] he obviously still knows how to play the game, so he’ll be able to help us,” the Warriors point guard added.

Curry admitted he was not expecting to see Bogut back in the NBA again following his move to Australia in April 2018. And the Warriors star revealed that he did not get the “mutual vibe” when initial talks about a potential return to the NBA began.

“I figured once he went to Australia, that would probably be the last we saw of him in NBA circles,” Curry explained. “So when his name came up, I thought it was kind of one-sided. Like, we’re familiar with him, we like him, let’s call him and see if he’s interested — I didn’t get the mutual vibe, and now it’s about to happen, so that’s pretty cool.”

Curry is uncertain about the number of minutes Bogut will get once he joins the Warriors, as they already have DeMarcus Cousins, who plays in the same position as the Australian. Apart from the Warriors point guard, small forward Kevin Durant also welcomed the imminent addition of Bogut after Steve Kerr confirmed talks.