Bogut open to other options

Tasmania to join NBL

ANDREW Bogut says he is prepared to play for another NBL team if the Sydney Kings can’t fit him in when he decides his future in the new year.

Bogut’s career remains on hold after he opted to wait before committing to a club due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The big man’s preference is to return to Sydney if he rejoins the NBL, but he concedes it isn’t for certain if the Kings don’t have any room left.

“If the roster is full by the time that I’ve made my decision, then I have to look at other alternatives and I’ve told Sydney that,” Bogut, above, said.

“I was really cognisant of not dragging the Kings on and waiting until August and September and then saying, ‘I don’t want to play anymore’.

“They could miss out on two recruits to fill my spot, so I wanted them to be on the front foot recruitment wise.”

In May, Bogut opted against committing to Sydney for the 2020-2021 NBL season as he felt the uncertainty around the coronavirus made it too difficult to plan his future.

It was initially suggested that he had closed the door on his Kings career, but he insists this isn’t the case.

“There is nothing further from the truth,” he said.

“If I elect to play in the NBL again, my No.1 priority is to play for Sydney.

“It is a no-brainer. I love the people there and I’m a minority owner still.

“I just don’t have a concrete decision on what I want to do based on the coronavirus.”

THE NBL will launch a social media campaign in the coming weeks for the public to name the new Tasmanian team to enter the league from the 2021-2022 NBL season.

The competition will introduce a 10th team from Tasmania after the league finalised its agreement with the Tasmanian Government to issue a licence to participate.

In a major boost for Australian basketball, Tassie will return to the domestic stage for the first time since the Hobart

Devils were dissolved in 1996.

The new team won’t revert back to the Devils name and the Tigers is also off the table as the state’s cricket team already use this logo.

It’s understood the NBL want a team name that represents Tasmania as they will also take games to the state’s north.

The agreement includes a new home for the team with the Tasmanian Government providing $68.5 million for the upgrade of the Derwent Entertainment Centre.