It’s been all stops to LA
Lakers latest destination in Bogut’s well-travelled career
ANDREW Bogut is loving Los Angeles, although he has encountered a few problems.
“I just got my car, finally,” Bogut said in the LA Lakers locker room this week.
“My furniture shows up next week.”
Bogut’s theme song for his 13th NBA season should be the Australian country classic I’ve Been Everywhere after a tumultuous year moving from NBA team to NBA team and leaving a trail of furniture, cars and other personal belongings in cities across the US.
“It’s in storage everywhere,” Bogut said.
“Dallas, Cleveland, cars here and furniture there and it’s a matter of finding it all and getting it all here.”
His LA residence is a hotel room, not the most comfortable existence when you are 213cm tall, but he is scanning suburbs for a home.
The Lakers signed Bogut last month to a one-year deal, so LA could also be another temporary stop.
The Golden State Warriors traded Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks in July last year, he was flicked to the Philadelphia 76ers in February and almost immediately moved to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he broke his leg 58 seconds into his debut game.
Bogut spent the next 5½ months rehabbing his leg in Melbourne, beating doctors’ expectations it could take as long as nine months to heal.
A “little tweak” to his groin has kept Bogut out of the Lakers’ pre-season games, including Tuesday’s against the Utah Jazz, but he expects to be on the court by the end of the week and in the team for the regular season opener against the LA Clippers on October 19.
“We expect him back by the start of the season for sure,” Lakers head coach Luke Walton said.
The Lakers are a young team featuring rookie sensation Lonzo Ball and Bogut, 32, is looking forward to adding his experience to the squad. Another issue he encountered was trying to find a number to wear because the Lakers, with their rich history of Hall of Fame players and retired jerseys including Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal, left few options.
He has selected No.66 for no other reason other than it was available. “The weather is perfect every day in LA; there’s world class restaurants, cafes and you can walk down to the beach,” Bogut said. “The traffic is a nightmare. “But life is good.”