Andrew Bogut will not play in NBL due to insurance issues: NBA Update
It was reported earlier that Australia’s National Basketball League was making efforts to secure an insurance package for NBA player Andrew Bogut.
However, in a recent interview the 26 year old Australian national told ESPN that the NBL has failed to overcome the issue. In a statement on Thursday, Bogut’s agent David Bauman said that the ongoing deal with the Sydney Kings
is now “off”, as the local league failed to cover roughly $40 million pact of Andrew with the Milwaukee Bucks.
After speaking with Bogut on phone, Bauman said, "He's very disappointed because he was hoping to help the profile of the NBL and bring in new fans. But the risks for his outstanding money were too great."
Earlier, because of the same issue Bogut failed to represent the Australian national side against the New Zealand in the three-game series of Olympic Qualifier-Round. However, the 7 footer centre rendered his services to the national
side as an assistant coach in that series. Australia went on winning the series and successfully qualified for the 2012 Olympics.
Bogut was committed to play for the Sydney club, had lost all hopes to reach a deal with the Kings. However, on the other hand, the officials of the league still feel that chances of Bogut representing the Kings are not completely
faded away yet, as they are still making last efforts to overcome the insurance issue.
If the NBL officials would have found an insurance deal by now, Bogut would be getting ready to play for the Kings in Friday’s game against the Melbourne Tigers. The Tigers in contrast were able to secure the services of Bogut’s
fellow guard Patty Mills, who had last played for the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was sad that the Kings were failed to acquire Bogut, who had played 65 games in the preceding season and scored with an average of 12.8 points with a vigorous 11.1 boards and 2.6 blocks a contest.
Still after achieving these stats, Bogut feels that he had lost his efficacy after he endured an injury on his right hand and elbow due to a terrible fall, back in April 2010. Since then Bogut had went through two surgeries, the
last operation took place during this spring in order to remove bone chips from his elbow.
Last month, Bogut told during an interview that, "I will have limitations my whole life, but compared to where I was this time last year; it's night-and-day better. I am shooting every day and lifting weights four times a week.
"My elbow still gets very achy if I overdo training [or take] too many shots in one day, so I still have to be a little bit careful."
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