Andrew Bogut

The Warriors have managed Bogut's playing time and held their collective breath that injuries would not occur. There's been a litany of foot and back issues dogging Bogut, but he has put together two consecutive 67-game seasons after playing a combined 44 games in the two previous seasons. When healthy, Bogut is a game-changing defensive presence – he averaged 2.6 blocks, and 12.3 rebounds per 36 minutes. Overall, he averaged 6.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 24 minutes per game. There was a lot of talk about Golden State's success when playing small ball, but the team that won 82 percent of its games were just 9-6 when playing without Bogut. Perhaps we saw a glimpse of the future in the NBA Finals when Bogut was a DNP-CD for the final two games of the series, but don't bet on it. The small ball lineup worked well in that series against Cleveland, but it's better in small doses. The Warriors still value Bogut's contributions, particularly against teams with formidable centers. He also has the kind of passing ability that dovetails nicely with the teams' ball-motion offense. Health is still the major issue with Bogut entering the 2015-16 season – he participated for Australia in the FIBA Oceania Championship despite dealing with back pain, helping his native country nail down a spot in the 2016 Olympics.

Bogut played 67 games last season, his most since 2009-10. He averaged 7.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.8 blocks in 26 minutes per game. The minutes were subdued partially due to an ankle injury that robbed Bogut of much of his previous season, but also by design. Under former head coach Mark Jackson, the Warriors often rolled with a smaller lineup featuring David Lee at center. That might change a bit under new head coach Steve Kerr, but given his recent injury history, protecting Bogut for the long haul is the prudent move. With Golden State, Bogut has not been the prolific offensive center he once was during his Milwaukee years. He has a nice offensive game, but there are just too many scoring options on the Warriors, reducing his touches and attempts. The 5.6 shot attempts per game he averaged last season was a career low. On this team, the 29-year-old center is looked to for his defensive contributions – blocks and rebounds. Bogut possesses good hands and a deft passing instinct for a big man. To that end, Kerr has sketched out some of his plans for the offense this coming season, including using Bogut more as a facilitator. The big question entering 2014-15 is health. Late in the regular season, he sustained a rib injury and missed the playoffs. Good health has been a scarce commodity for Bogut, who has missed double-digit games in seven of his nine NBA seasons.

In what has become the norm with Bogut, he once again was plagued by injuries last season. The Australian big man was limited to 32 games with the Warriors as he dealt with ankle and back issues. When he was able to take to the hardwood during the regular season, Bogut often looked limited and managed to finish with averages of just 5.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 35 minutes per game. While his production was down during the regular season, Bogut started to flash numbers more in line with his career averages during the postseason – he finished the Warriors 12-game playoff run with averages of 9.5 points, 14.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 58 percent from the floor. Of course, he also shot just 35 percent from the free-throw line during the playoffs and will be a drain in the category. He's reportedly 100 percent healthy and shouldn't have any restrictions heading into camp. Bogut and his injury-riddled past come with plenty of risk, but he can provide elite rebounding and block production when healthy, and he seems to fit in nicely with Golden State's style of play.

Bogut’s 2011-12 campaign was a season of both constants and changes. The constants started with his production, as he was once again a nightly double-double threat with averages of 11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. He was also his usual dominant self on defense, averaging 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. Unfortunately, the most glaring constant was Bogut’s propensity to get injured. Like the previous three seasons, Bogut’s campaign was cut short after he suffered a season-ending injury. This time around it was a fractured left ankle that caused Bogut to miss 53 of 65 games. The change for Bogut last season was his scenery, as he was traded to the Warriors in March. His recovery from ankle surgery is on track, but Bogut will likely miss some time in the preseason before he’s back at full strength. The Warriors have more scoring options (Stephen Curry, David Lee, Klay Thompson) than the Bucks did while Bogut was in Milwaukee, so his new team probably won’t ask him to do as much offensively. But he’ll still be asked to anchor the defense and clean the glass. While he’ll once again enter the season as an injury risk, Bogut is still in a great position to be a productive defensive/rebounding option when targeting centers for your fantasy hoops team.

After suffering gruesome right elbow, hand and wrist injuries that ended his 2009-10 season and required surgery, Bogut never appeared to be at full strength in 2010-11. Despite playing hobbled, Bogut was able to establish himself as one of the better defensive big men in the game. The seven-foot Australian led the NBA with 2.6 blocks per game while also pulling down a career-high 11.1 boards. While he still managed to average 12.8 points, Bogut’s offensive game was far less efficient as he played through his injuries. Unable to extend his right arm fully, Bogut shot a miserable 44.2 percent from the charity stripe. Thanks to his ambidexterity, Bogut was able to salvage a 49.2 percent rate from the floor, but that still marked the first time he fell below 50 percent in his career. Although signs point to Bogut being at full strength when/if the 2011-12 season tips, he should still be considered an injury concern after missing 76 games over the past three seasons. Regardless, Bogut remains a solid bounce-back candidate thanks to his dominating defensive and rebounding prowess. If he’s able to get his elbow right and stay healthy for a full season, Bogut could become one of the better overall big men in fantasy.

Coming off a back injury that was worrisome, Bogut averaged career-highs in both points (15.9) and blocks (2.5) last year, and especially for a center, his 1.8 apg and 0.6 spg were solid. He also grabbed 10.2 rpg and shot 52 percent from the field, though his touch from the free throw line remains a problem (62.9%). A gruesome injury in which he had his legs cut out from underneath him, resulting in a fractured right index finger that also suffered ligament damage, a sprained wrist and worst of all, a fractured elbow, all on his shooting arm, forced him to miss the final 13 games last season. Over the last four years, Bogut has missed an average of 19.8 games, so his durability has rightfully been questioned. While no guarantee, he's tentatively scheduled to be ready for the start of 2010-11, and his most recent injury was very serious. But health really is the only issue here, because the former No. 1 pick has developed into quite the NBA center. Dwight Howard was the only other player in the league to average at least 15.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 2.5 bpg last season. And with Bogut's awesome passing skills with what appears to be an improved roster, it wouldn't surprise us at all if his assist totals doubled in 2010-11.

After missing significant time in two of the past three seasons due to injuries, Bogut’s value has dropped. The former No.1 overall selection was supposed to be a franchise cornerstone for the Bucks, solidifying their frontcourt for years to come. Instead, he has only shown flashes of the talent that made him a top-notch prospect. Bogut was hindered by back problems most of last season, appearing in his final game in late-January. The extra time off appears to have helped in Bogut’s recovery, and he hopes to be ready for training camp. Before his season ended abruptly, Bogut’s scoring average dropped nearly three points from the previous season, from 14.4 to 11.7 ppg. One of the reasons for the decline in scoring was his continued struggles from the free-throw line, where he shot a career-worst 57.1 percent. His defense also tailed off as his blocks fell from 1.7 to 1.0 per contest. Still, he was able to set career-highs in rebounds (10.2) and field-goal percentage (57.7). He’s also a solid passer out of the post and can be a sneaky source of assists from the center position. The Bucks have a dearth of scoring talent in the frontcourt, leaving Bogut as their primary post-up option. While he lacks explosiveness, he has a multitude of post-up moves that get him high-percentage opportunities and should keep him in the mix to reach double figures in scoring year in and year out.

Bogut took definite strides in his third campaign, with new career highs set in points (14.3 ppg) and boards (9.8 rpg) as he flirted with averaging a double-double. The former number one overall NBA draft pick is learning to overpower smaller defenders physically, and to use his surprisingly good ball-handling skills to dribble around bigger opponents. But the biggest area of improvement in Bogut’s game came on defense, where his 2.5 combined blocks/steals per game almost doubled his previous career best. Bogut got a big contract from the Bucks this offseason, as the team recognized his improvement and expects further growth going forward.

Bogut made strides in his sophomore campaign, setting new per-game highs in points (12.3), boards (8.8), field-goal percentage (55.3) and assists (3.0). The number one overall pick in the 2005 draft used his great size to overpower smaller defenders and his surprisingly good ball-handling skills to dribble around larger ones. The problem with Bogut is his lack of foot speed, which hampers his defense (only .5 bpg), but if he continues to improve offensively, he’ll still produce in enough categories to be useful.

Bogut made just one start at center last season, so he may not qualify for the position right out of the box. Trading Jamaal Magloire cleared the position for Bogut, who will make his home there in 2006-07. Though not a gifted athlete, Bogut’s got good hands and passes well for a big man. He possesses a nice offensive game, but will have to find his shots among Michael Redd, Bobby Simmons and Charlie Villanueva. He’ll get more playing time this year (28.6 mpg last year), but we’re not expecting a big jump in scoring just yet.

It’s not known if Bogut will be starter right away, so we’ll monitor training camp and preseason news for the team’s intentions. The Bucks re-signed restricted free agent Dan Gadzuric in the offseason, but he and Bogut could be on the floor at the same time. Bogut gives Milwaukee a scoring threat in the low post, and Gadzuric can slowly take Joe Smith’s power forward spot. If Bogut does get big minutes out of the gate, he should have no problem averaging double-digit points and above average assist numbers for a big man, given his deft passing skills.

Bogut had a monster sophomore season with Utah, averaging 20.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. Even with his great size, Bogut has tremendous all-around skills because he's a great passer and has soft hands that help him coral rebounds near the glass. The one thorn in Bogut's side is his below average athleticism, which could be a problem if he plays power forward. Bogut lacks lateral quickness and doesn't have much lift. He might have some trouble finding a position to play, as he might not be physical enough to play center and might not be athletic enough to guard the quicker power forwards. Still, Bogut has a great chance of being the first overall pick and is widely considered a lock for a top three pick.