Remember Andrew Bogut?
Tall, Australian, plays basketball. It is OK if you don't remember him.
It has been a tough few years for Bogey. First he had that horrific elbow injury that we have all seen one too many times. Then that same injury took so long to heal that it messed up his offensive game the season after the injury happened.
Right when it looked like his arm completely healed, he fractured his ankle, causing him to miss most of last season.
In the midst of last season, Bogut was traded to Golden State from Milwaukee where he is expected to be a defensive anchor for a team that has been longing for a defensive anchor for some time. However, Bogut recently told the Contra Costa Times he may miss training camp and the preseason to make sure his ankle is completely healthy (H/T to CBS Sports' Matt Moore).
"It's about being smart with my ankle,” Bogut said via a conference call with local media. “There's no point in trying to get ready for October 1st, when another week could significantly help. I'm trying to get ready for camp, but my main goal is for the first game of the season to be 110 percent.”
Bogut quickly added that doctors say his recovery is ahead of schedule (is anyone's recovery ever on time?) and that his ankle has had little to no swelling or soreness.
No rush, but the team Bogut will be joining could be a pretty good one. The Golden State Warriors had a really good offseason.
Harrison Barnes is likely going to be in Rookie of the Year discussion from day one. The Warriors signed Carl Landry, who is the perfect back up for David Lee and help on to sharp shooting Brandon Rush.
Assuming Bogut and point guard Stephen Curry are healthy, this Warriors team could push for the playoffs, just like their owner promised last season. It is a big if considering both players' injury history, but everything else is in place for the Warriors to get back to the postseason and build off this suddenly young and exciting core of Curry, Klay Thompson, Barnes and Bogut.
