Report: Andrew Bogut to sign with Lakers, out as possible Celtics 15th man

According to a report from the Vertical’s Shams Charania, Andrew Bogut has agreed to a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

For Bogut, several factors led to a commitment to the Lakers: reuniting with Lakers head coach Luke Walton; team upgrades in the offseason with rookies such as Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma and free-agent signee Kentavious Caldwell-Pope; positional need as the franchise searched for an additional big man; and adding championship experience to a developing roster under president of basketball operations Magic Johnson.

Bogut’s decision to sign with the Lakers comes within less than a week of the news that fellow former free agent big Boris Diaw has signed with Paris-Levallois to play in France. That means two less fish in the dwindling bargain big man pool, an unfortunate reality for the Boston Celtics- a team with an open roster spot and a number of question marks in the front court.

Until this week, Bogut and Diaw represented the most established names remaining on the market that Boston could have conceivably signed to a veteran minimum contract, the only tool they have left for adding a free agent. That market now consists of the following players:

Lavoy Allen, Festus Ezeli, Roy Hibbert, Jordan Hill, Kris Humphries, David Lee, Marshall Plumlee, Thomas Robinson, and Tiago Splitter

No one in that list is devoid of skill, but everyone is flawed in some fairly substantial way. The same was true for both Bogut and Diaw, but to a significantly lesser degree. Exactly how the Celtics choose to round out their roster, and whether or not it includes any of the names above remains to be seen, though it is worth noting that just one of this grouping, Thomas Robinson, has had a workout with the team.