12:02pm: In a follow-up tweet, Stein suggests that perhaps the talks involving Bogut have cooled. According to Stein, the Warriors continue to aggressively explore trade options involving Jefferson and Biedrins, but not Bogut.
That suggests to me that the Warriors are trying to create cap flexibility for a subsequent move while still hanging on to Bogut in case they can't land Howard.
9:49am: The Warriors and Jazz have opened talks on a trade that would send Andrew Bogut to Utah, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). According to Stein (via Twitter), the Jazz have expressed the strongest interest in the 28-year-old, due in part to Al Jefferson's departure and Bogut's history at the University of Utah.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported earlier today that the Jazz were one of the teams Golden State had engaged, along with the Hawks and Cavs, in an effort to shed the salaries of Bogut, Richard Jefferson, and Andris Biedrins. Berger's report didn't specify whether the Warriors were discussing all three players with all three teams, or particular players with particular teams, but it seems as if Utah, at least, is a potential destination for Bogut.
Of the three contracts the Warriors are shopping, Bogut's is the most expensive at $14MM, but he's also more productive than Jefferson ($11MM+) and Biedrins ($9MM). While Jefferson and Biedrins would likely need to be attached to multiple draft picks to find a taker, Bogut shouldn't be quite as tricky to move. If they were to renounce their current free agents, the Jazz could create more than $25MM in cap space, so there'd be plenty of room to take on Bogut's salary without sending out any players.
Bogut is coming off a pair of injury-plagued seasons, but was a solid contributor for Golden State in the 2013 postseason, averaging 7.2 PPG and 10.9 RPG, with a .582 FG%.
He played very well defensively, so I hope they are not trying to get rid of him on the hope of acquiring Dwight Howard. If they were to keep them both, and send D – Lee away their defence of the paint would be epic. Twin towers!! And at least get it in writing that if they were to ship him out then Dwight will become a member of the Warriors.
That would be illegal. Until the league wide moratorium is lifted at the end of August, teams and players can only AGREE with nothing becoming official. Technically, all of these “agreed” upon deals, can be rescinded, since NOTHING can become official until July 30. If the Dubs package players, to create space, and D-Ho goes someplace else, all other previous deals could be taken back. Of course it would look bad, and chances are, you would be the scorn of many GMs, but your team wouldn’t be at the mercy of the fickle D-Ho.
When they had Jefferson all they talked about was getting rid of one of their big guys so Favors could start… now they want Bogut
Bogut would not be expected to demand full-time minutes at this time of his career. Like Bill Walton with the Celtics in ’85, Walton could contribute a solid 10-20 minutes per game while not being a starter.
The Jazz should trade Andris Biedrins for Omer Asik, Then do a deal for either J. J. Hickson Portland or Atlanta’s Josh Smith and Jeff Teague, which of course would need to be a sign and trade for them. Providing Portland a 2017 first round pick,R and Richard Jefferson. Then for Atlanta trade them Jefferson, Rush and a second round pick. Try to get the contracts for at least 4-5 years since they are young players.
The Jazz need to consider signing Carlos Delfino as a backup for Favors and a guard position.