The Golden State Warriors most recent addition and former center Andrew Bogut gave his honest opinions on new teammate and former MVP Kevin Durant.
When asked about his new superstar teammate, the Golden State Warriors backup center Andrew Bogut praised Kevin Durant, saying, “He’s arguably the best player in the world,” according to the Mercury News’ Mark Medina.
That wasn’t all Bogut had to say about the four-time scoring champ turned teammate.
"“Balance is winning. Kevin knows that. Kevin has never been a guy since I’ve been around that is coming in after games saying he needs more shots,” Bogut said. “This team knows there is five All-Stars. You can’t go out there and score 30 [points]. I think Kevin has been more comfortable the last couple of games distributing a little bit more than he is used to. But there’s times where Steph will do that. Klay – not so much because he shoots it every time he touches it. But DeMarcus should get a fair bit as well. But I think it should be a good balance.”"
Andrew Bogut was a crucial part of the Warriors for half a decade and should be given part of the praise for the dynasty that’s been formed in the Bay. That dynasty has been carried on, in part, by the addition of Kevin Durant.
However, the Bogut-era never overlapped the Durant-era. Bogut played in Golden State from 2012-2016, ending his time in Golden State during his first stint with the historic 3-1 Finals comeback by the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers.
That was the event that spurred superstar Kevin Durant to joining the already top-of-the-league Warriors.
Durant finished his contract with the Thunder and then signed with the Warriors, winners of the 2015 NBA Finals. He joined three stars in Golden State, making the team virtually unguardable. They easily won the next two NBA Finals after the addition of ‘arguably the world’s best player.’
As for Bogut’s role, he will be used as more of a commodity and less as a consistent force in the paint. This is not what he’s used to after being the MVP of the Australian league, but the veteran is smart enough to understand the speed of the NBA and his usefulness isn’t what it once was.
Bogut will get limited minutes and hopefully cruise to the NBA Finals behind the Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry-led Warriors. For Bogut, it was probably a phenomenal experience playing alongside Curry and then coming back to play alongside Curry and Durant, two of the league’s best.
Only playing 12.0 minutes per game in seven games, Bogut was the Dubs last addition to their championship-caliber roster. That said, let’s see if they pull it off yet again this season and get Bogut his second NBA Championship.