A loophole could allow Andrew Bogut to return to the Golden State Warriors
By John Buhler
Andrew Bogut was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Philadelphia 76ers. He is expected to be bought out. Could he go back to the Golden State Warriors?
Former Dallas Mavericks center Andrew Bogut was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday afternoon for center Nerlens Noel. Bogut is expected to be bought out by the 76ers, as he is a free agent on the final year of his contract.
Only last year was Bogut playing in his second-straight NBA Finals for the Golden State Warriors. While the NBA has a reacquisition restriction rule in place to make it nearly impossible for teams to back players they just traded, there is a way that Bogut could be playing in the 2017 NBA Finals for Golden State.
Front-office insider Bobby Marks of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports spells out the loophole that could have Bogut back in the Bay Area playing for the Warriors before March.
A loophole in the CBA could allow Golden State to sign Andrew Bogut (if he desires to return).
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 23, 2017
The reacquisition restriction rule only applies to the "last trade" and not all prior trades as well.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 23, 2017
The NBA could interpret that both Golden State and Dallas could not sign Bogut however but as the rule states, the last team is Dallas.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 23, 2017
Marks is a former front office executive with the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets, so he is immensely knowledgeable of the loopholes that come with NBA team building. In short, the Warriors can land Bogut this season because he was traded from Dallas to Philadelphia.
Golden State could not reacquire Bogut from Dallas, but can land him this year because he was dealt at the deadline to Philadelphia. The Warriors need rim protection to beat presumably LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
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Getting Bogut back on a veteran’s minimum contract seems almost unfair. Golden State had to dump his salary in a trade with Dallas to be able to afford small forward Kevin Durant in free agency last season. Bogut is widely considered to sign with the Cavaliers or the Warriors if he is bought out by the 76ers.