Warriors won't pursue Andrew Bogut in NBA buyout market despite eligibility

The Golden State Warriors (49-9) are not keen on bringing back Andrew Bogut, who is currently engaged in contract buyout talks with the Philadelphia 76ers to enter free agency, per reports. The Australian centre has until Wednesday's deadline to get out of his existing contract and retain playoff eligibility for his next team.

Bogut, according to The Vertical's Shams Charania, has drawn interest from as many as five teams, namely the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz, but his representatives are yet to receive a call from the Warriors, the team that Bogut helped win a championship in 2015. After getting traded to the Sixers, Bogut told coach Brett Brown that he wishes to pursue a championship, propelling the two sides to work towards a contract buyout, which is expected by Monday.

Warriors wish to sign a guard, Jose Calderon expected to join team

After initial confusion regarding the Warriors' eligibility to bring back Bogut, the NBA's league office confirmed last week that Golden State are free to pursue to the Aussie if they wish to. ESPN's Mark Stein reported Thursday that the Warriors would rather hand the 15th roster spot to a veteran guard; Jose Calderon has emerged as a lock to sign with Golden State in the coming week.

“The thing is the Warriors are really looking for guards in the buyout market. I think they’ll at least weigh it, because they didn’t even think they’d be able to sign him. There’s some funky salary cap rules there that I won’t bore you with… They’re not really looking for another big, they’re looking more for either another point guard or a scoring guard so I think they’ll go the guard route and Bogut will go to Cleveland," Stein told The Dan Le Batard Show, via KNBR.

According to Akron Beacon Journal, the Cleveland Cavaliers are currently to the favourites to sign Bogut and face competition from the Houston Rockets, who cleared US$3.5 million (AU$4.5 million) in salary-cap space after moving K.J. McDaniels and Tyler Ennis ahead of last week's NBA Trade Deadline. "There will be a number of suitors in pursuit of Bogut, who is also eligible to return to the Warriors because he was traded from Dallas to Philadelphia. So if the Warriors want him back, they may pursue him. The Cavs have long had their eye on Bogut, but they’ll have competition for him -- primarily from the Houston Rockets."

LeBron James has urged the Warriors to find a back-up point guard and rim protector to bolster the team's chances to repeat as NBA champions in June. With Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut likely on board, the Cavs would have veterans to call upon during another potentially deep postseason run. Stay tuned for the latest news and updates ahead of the NBA buyout market deadline.