Los Angeles Lakers: Assessing the impact of Andrew Bogut’s signing

Bogut’s impact on young bigs

The players most affected by the Andrew Bogut signing have to be Ivica Zubac and Thomas Bryant. Both players, especially Zubac, were in line for extended minutes backing up Brook Lopez. Adding Bogut to the mix will push them further down the bench, at least for the early part of the season. This seems like a bad scenario for young players in need of floor time, but there are positives to take away from Bogut’s arrival.

First, Bogut has played 12 NBA seasons, and can teach Zubac and Bryant how to be a professional on and off the floor. They should ask him ways they can develop a handle like Bogut has, or tips on how he sees the floor or times his leap on defense. This opportunity to pick a successful big man’s brain should not be wasted by Bryant or Zubac.

I understand the thought process behind giving minutes to Bryant and Zubac, but I’d rather field a more competitive team and Bogut is easily better than the other two. Also, there’s no reason they can’t spend time in the G League getting meaningful minutes as main focal points of an offense instead of being fourth or fifth options in limited minutes.

Zubac showed some potential down the stretch last season, and I expect him to see another uptick in playing time if the Lakers are out of playoff contention early in 2018. I think he will be the biggest benefactor from watching from Bogut due to their similar frames. Bogut is a superior athlete, but Zubac shares the basketball IQ and feel that makes Bogut so much fun.