Bogut Wanted Bucks’ Support During Injury
In an interview with SI.com at the team’s practice facility Monday, (Andrew) Bogut challenged the notion that he’s injury-prone, talked about being criticized while playing hurt, explained why it was time to part ways with the Bucks and analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of his new team.
SI.com: What toll did the injuries take on your relationship with the Bucks?
Bogut: Well, the one thing I would say is that I came off an arm surgery when I hurt my elbow, and came back [for the 2010-11 season] and we still didn’t sign a backup big [man]. We let Kurt Thomas walk, and he had a great year for us. I can definitely question the way things were ran there, too, but I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty. But I would’ve liked to have had a backup big.
SI.com: But how badly did you want out? When I hear that you’d made a “trade request,” I’m always wondering what level of urgency there is to get out.
Bogut: I think I was easy with it either way. It would’ve been nice to spend my whole career in one city, but I think at the same time it got to the point where they approached me with scenarios and I definitely didn’t rebut them. I wasn’t a guy who said, “No, that’s bull—-, I want to stay here.’ But I wasn’t the guy who said, “Get me the ‘F’ out of here. I hate it here.” I think it was as mutual as it gets. It was handled very professionally. It was just time, man. People were frustrated with my injuries, and we weren’t having a great year anyway, and I was frustrated with the way my injuries were treated by people there. I think the best thing for both parties was to go their own way.
SI.com: What do you mean by “the way your injuries were treated”?
Bogut: It’s always tough with injuries of this magnitude, because I can’t come out and say [anything]. After I hurt my elbow [in April 2010], people were like, “Why are his offensive numbers down?” [in the 2010-11 season when he returned]. I can’t come out and say, “Well, my elbow is totally screwed and I’m playing through a lot of pain.” But I would’ve liked a bit more from the franchise on that side of things, [for them] to come out and say, “He’s playing with a piece of bone loose in his elbow.”
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