At the trade deadline, Andrew Bogut of the Dallas Mavericks was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the package for Nerlens Noel.
The report came from The Mavericks now have a young defensive center, the report came from ESPN.
"The Dallas Mavericks have traded center Andrew Bogut to the Philadelphia 76ers for forward Nerlens Noel. The Mavericks also will send Justin Anderson and a conditional first-round pick to Philadelphia."
With the trade the Sixers got rid of one of their centers but they took back another. Obviously, Bogut is not happy to join the logjam after spending time on the bench when Dirk Nowitzki was utilized as a small-ball center. Thus, the report also noted this.
"Bogut told ESPN's Tim MacMahon that he is considering his options, including requesting a buyout if he's not traded to another team." Not long after, the trade deadline commenced.
"The Sixers tried to find a second trade before the deadline to move Bogut but couldn't, sources said. Philadelphia and Bogut's agent, David Bauman, will thus immediately commence buyout negotiations, sources said."
Quick answers on who would need a veteran, defensive center would include the Boston Celtics (who did not make any moves, blockbuster trade or even minor ones to address their roster needs going to the playoffs), the Cleveland Cavaliers and even the Golden State Warriors.
The Cavaliers and Celtics reportedly have plans to try and acquire Bogut. The Warriors were thought to be ineligible to sign him because of an NBA rule that restricts teams from signing players they traded within one year (also called the "Zydrunas Ilgauskas rule" after the Cavs waited for their center).
However, SFGate reports that this rule does not apply to the Warriors anymore.
"Per an NBA loophole, it's possible. The re-acquisition rule only applies to the last team to have traded a player, meaning only Dallas can't re-sign Bogut. The Warriors traded Bogut to the Mavericks on July 7 to free up salary-cap space to sign Kevin Durant from Oklahoma City."
The last team to trade Bogut is now the Dallas Mavericks, not Golden State. It was the Philadelphia 76ers who would buy him out. The Warriors, however, were not yet decided on whether they will pursue Bogut with the recent development of Javale McGee. But he is still Javale McGee, though and probably not the best option in the playoffs.
Will Bogut join the Cleveland Cavaliers after their intense rivalry for the past two years? There are some quarters that believe he'd rather go somewhere else, but that has not been verified. The San Antonio Spurs are believed to be interested as well.