Bogut wants to be more aggressive offensively for the Mavericks Credit:AP Off court he likes the slower pace of Dallas life and along with 38-year-old superstar Dirk Nowitzki and wings Wesley Matthews and Harrison Barnes, Bogut will be one of the figureheads. With his contract ending he could earn a significant pay rise. As it stands, Bogut would rank among the top centres in next year's free agency market. Several centres of his age and accomplishments this off-season received deals of more than US$60 million for four years - well above the US$12 million he earns this season. The Mavericks could offer him an extension although they have rarely done that in recent years. "I'm just playing it out," Bogut said on Monday.

"If discussions start up, discussions start up but right now nothing is going on from either end. "They might do it at a later date, whether I do it or not I don't know. "It's one of those situations where the open market right now has some absolutely ridiculous contracts floating around so my max extension wouldn't be that hefty compared to being on the open market. "The mindset is if it's offered halfway through the year or down the track it's a big question because you would be playing with the chance to cash in even more. If it [a contract extension] is offered halfway through the year ... it's a big question because you would be playing with the chance to cash in even more. Andrew Bogut

"There is risk and reward to both sides and at this point we haven't even gone that far." While he hasn't played big minutes in the preseason, Bogut is going to be a major part of their offence both as a passer and as a scoring threat, something he's rarely been encouraged to do. "Essentially they want me to be more aggressive offensively, they want me to get my own shots more," Bogut said. "I can score the ball when called upon and a lot of it comes down to me going back to that mentality." That change in mindset will be a tough one for Bogut although he was more assertive during the Boomers' Rio Olympic campaign.

"A lot of it comes from the team, your coaches and your teammates who have the confidence in you, then I can go zero from four, zero from five and still take shots after that," Bogut said. "That's a big part of this league, if you are the number one or number two option the ball is going to come to you no matter if you shoot well or not. "In the past it has been about getting everyone else going, that was my role and it worked wonders with the group I was with as we won a championship and were runners up the next season." In Australian sport many people are torn by changing teams but Bogut quickly turned to making the Mavericks as successful as possible. "I knew that if KD [Durant] came to that decision it would just be simple mathematics," Bogut said.

"There were a couple of contracts that had to be moved to fit him in and I was one of those guys. "If I'm the GM [general manager] of whoever and I was presented with that deal I would do it as well - that's the way it goes." There also isn't any lingering disappointment about the Warriors' NBA Finals loss for Bogut, whose knee injury forced him out during the series and almost cost him a place in Rio. "It's gone for me," Bogut said when asked about any pain from losing the finals. "It didn't happen for us last year but it's behind us now. That's pro sports. I basically forgot about it when I went to the Rio Olympics as I had a new goal to focus on and I had to get the knee right and focus on getting a medal.

"That's the good thing and the bad thing about being a professional athlete, when you win it you don't have much time to celebrate it. "When you lose you don't have time to dwell on it - it works out both ways." Bogut's season in Dallas, which tips off on Thursday with a visit to Indiana Pacers, could go both ways too. The Mavs sneaked into the playoffs last year and the Australian is under no illusions about how tough this campaign will be. "We are an older group, especially the starting lineup, so we have to be very disciplined and play the game at our kind of pace," Bogut said.

Loading "I wouldn't say we are a slow group but we aren't a quick up and down group - we have to play a very smart game. "If we do that and we don't have injuries we are a playoff team but I think at this point of the season 30 out of 30 teams are thinking the same thing."