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LOS ANGELES – The phone call still bothers Andrew Bogut nearly 15 months later.

Then, Bogut learned the Los Angeles Lakers would cut him four days before his contract would become guaranteed. Normally such an incident would be chalked up to the business of professional sports. To Bogut, the Lakers breached an unwritten agreement he said he had reached with their front office so long as he remained healthy.

“The Lakers told me I’d be there the whole year,” Bogut told Bay Area News Group. “They went against their word and waived me at the deadline. Whatever. That was their decision.”

Bogut did not travel with the Warriors (53-24) for Thursday’s game against the Lakers (35-43), as part of the team’s plan to rest its veterans on parts of back-to-backs. Even if he had gone on the trip, though, it does not appear Bogut would shake hands with the Lakers’ president of basketball operations (Magic Johnson) and their general manager (Rob Pelinka) for a simple reason.

“I was basically lied to,” Bogut said.

Bogut had reservations initially about agreeing to a non-guaranteed deal with the Lakers to open training camp last season. Bogut had no aspirations to move his wife and two children from his native Australia to Los Angeles, only to relocate following a possible roster cut or trade.

Yet, Bogut understood the Lakers’ concerns about his durability. He fractured the tibia in his left leg only 56 seconds into his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers in March 2017. Before the Warriors traded Bogut to Dallas to clear cap space for Kevin Durant in the 2016 offseason, Bogut injured his left knee in the first minutes of Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals against Cleveland and missed the rest of a series the Warriors squandered after holding a 3-1 lead.

But Bogut said that the Lakers’ front office told his agent, David Bauman, “we have no concerns if you’re healthy.” Bogut added he and Bauman received assurances he would not be waived either for financial reasons or to clear up playing time for younger players.

So Bogut agreed to a one-year deal. After all, Bogut had affection for Lakers coach Luke Walton after he had served as an assistant under Warriors coach Steve Kerr for two years (2014-2016). Bogut also found it appealing to help Walton accelerate the Lakers’ rebuilding after missing the NBA playoffs since 2014 with both defense and mentoring.

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Instead, Bogut played in only 24 games and averaged 9.0 minutes. The Lakers then waived Bogut on Jan. 6, 2017, four days before his contract would have become guaranteed for the remainder of the season.

“I took their word for that stupidly,” Bogut said. “It’s part of the business. But it’s disappointing because I have two young kids and all that. I was stupid enough to take their word on something I shouldn’t have.”

Enough time has passed for Bogut to feel fully healthy after playing this past year with the Sydney Kings of the Australian National League. After signing with the Warriors last month as an insurance policy behind DeMarcus Cousins, Bogut has finally adjusted to the jet lag he experienced nearly two weeks ago. He has finally settled in a new Bay Area home with his family. He finally feels fully acclimated with a Warriors team eager to lean on his defense and screen setting, while sparking nostalgic memories about his previous four-year tenure (2012-16) and championship run (2015).

Not enough time has passed, though, for Bogut to soften his frustrations about his brief stint with the Lakers.

“It was a young team and the roster was kind of all over the place,” Bogut said. “Now obviously they got LeBron [James] and their own issues they are dealing with. It was definitely an interesting organization to be a part of after coming from Golden State. It’s just different. It’s ran differently.”

The Lakers did not make Pelinka or Johnson available for comment. But the Lakers maintained they would not have made such assurances to Bogut about keeping him on a non-guaranteed contract out of concern that it could violate NBA rules. Otherwise, the Lakers could have just offered Bogut a guaranteed contract.

Either way, that incident set off a series of events that made Bogut question his NBA future.

After his family returned to their native Australia, Bogut continued training in Los Angeles in case any NBA teams wanted him on their playoff roster. Bogut said that four unnamed teams expressed interest, but he decided not to pursue any of those options after his grandfather died unexpectedly.

Shortly after Bogut returned to Melbourne for his grandfather’s funeral, he then discovered his wife would have a high-risk pregnancy due in July. At that point, Bogut determined he would stay in his native country for at least a year. He then signed a two-year deal with the Sydney Kings.

“I never had in the back of my mind that I want to get back into the NBA,” Bogut said. “I didn’t even have my agent reach out to people.”

That did not matter. This past December, Bogut said a handful of unnamed Warriors players contacted him and asked a simple question: “Can you get out of your contract?”

Even if he felt the Lakers burned him, Bogut relayed that he had no plans to do that to the Sydney Kings. “I wanted to make sure I finish the right way,” Bogut said. Once the NBL season ends in mid February, though, Bogut said he would be interested in joining the Warriors if they still had an open roster spot.

The Warriors had always kept their 15th and final slot open to account for a possible trade or a player available in the buyout market following the Feb. 7 trade deadline. Instead, the Warriors remained intrigued about another reunion with Bogut.

Larry Harris, the Warriors’ assistant general manager and director of pro personnel, took a 15-hour flight to Sydney on Feb. 4. Then, Harris watched Bogut both practice and play in a game. They had lunch afterwards to talk about the Warriors. Afterwards, Harris became encouraged with Bogut for his improved health and for averaging 11.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks in about 30 minutes per game.

Nearly a month later, the Warriors agreed to a deal. Since then, Bogut has averaged 3.9 points on 50 percent shooting and 4.9 rebounds in 11 minutes through eight games, including three starts. That is far from what the Warriors expected from Bogut during his previous four-year stint when he primarily started at center and averaged 6.25 points and 8.27 rebounds. Still, Bogut has offered familiar qualities with his defensive intensity, screen setting and communication on a moment’s notice. Cousins missed two games with a sore right foot. He often has experienced foul trouble, too. In the playoffs, the Warriors anticipate using Bogut in limited minutes against true centers.

“We throw him out there and it’s like he never left,” Kerr said. “He’s providing us with that extra big we needed.”

Kerr also noticed that Bogut “appears recharged and refreshed.” That explains why Bogut already has committed toward playing for the Australian national team in the 2019 World Cup in China (Aug. 31-Sept. 15) and in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (July 24-Aug. 9).

Then, Bogut said that Australia will field its “deepest team,” including Philadelphia forward Ben Simmons, Utah forward Joe Ingles, Utah guard Dante Exum, San Antonio guard Patty Mills and Boston center Aron Baynes.

Will that be enough to beat Team USA? At least when at least some of the team’s invited stars plan to sit in the 2019 World Cup?

“People will say the best players aren’t going to play. But the next 10 after the first 10 are all potential Hall-of-Famers,” Bogut said “They’re not scrubs. We know whoever they’ll put out there is always the team to beat.”

Until then, Bogut plans to enjoy his final stint with the Warriors in hopes of offering a small role in the franchise winning their fourth NBA title in five years. Before then, the Warriors will face the Lakers team, which sparked unpleasant memories for Bogut even if he will neither play in the game nor sit on the bench.

Had Bogut traveled with the Warriors on their short trip here, perhaps he would have at least given some sympathy to Walton. Toward the beginning of Walton’s third season as the Lakers coach, Johnson met with him and shared his displeasure in a stern and direct tone about the team’s inconsistency and start.

Johnson has since given Walton a public vote of confidence, but the sentiment around NBA circles suggest Johnson will replace Walton following the season. Lakers controlling governor Jeanie Buss has supported Walton publicly, but has also empowered Johnson to oversee the team’s basketball operations.

Regardless, those around the Warriors sympathize with Walton’s circumstances. He has overseen a roster that missed a combined 166 games because of injuries, including season-ending ailments to James, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball. The Lakers do not have consistent outside shooters. The Lakers also failed to land Pelicans forward Anthony Davis before the trade deadline.

“He knows how to coach, first and foremost. The knocks on him about not being able to coach are wrong,” Bogut said of Walton. “He’s got a high basketball IQ. He knows the game better than anybody. But there’s a lot of politics that go around different NBA franchises. He’s fallen victim to that. That’s what I think. The results speak for themselves. They aren’t great, so that hurts him. But I truly think there are decisions made within that organization that really affected him.”

Bogut maintained he knows from experience. And even with nearly a year gone by, Bogut remains upset by it.

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