Andrew Bogut could re-sign with the Warriors thanks to a CBA loophole

The Golden State Warriors could re-sign Andrew Bogut if he clears waivers, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. There is a “reacquisition” rule that prevents former teams from acquiring players they traded, but it doesn’t apply in this situation.

Bogut was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Philadelphia 76ers at the deadline, who attempted but failed to swap him again. The 76ers will waive Bogut and he will reach free agency if no one claims him in the 48-hour period. (It’s likely no one will.)

The reacquisition rule is one that closes a loophole in the NBA. The exact terms are as follows: after a team trades any player, they cannot reacquire that player for one calendar year if he is waived. However, the rule only applies to the most recent team to trade him, not every team, per Wojnarowski. Since Dallas is the most recent team to deal Bogut now, rather than the Warriors, Golden State would be eligible.

At least on NBA Twitter, many people had the impression that the Warriors would not be eligible to re-sign him. In fact, they are — what isn’t clear is whether they’re interested.

Dallas was actually the team that initially inspired this rule after attempting to use this loophole to trade away Jerry Stackhouse — knowing he would be waived — and re-sign him for the playoff run. (Stackhouse told reporters that was the team’s plan, causing the NBA to prevent Dallas from doing that.) It’ll be interesting to see if the NBA deems this rule worth correcting in the offseason or not.

Bogut was with the Warriors last season, of course, and Golden State’s biggest weakness this year is at center. So far this year, they’ve survived with a combination of Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, David West, and of course their Death Lineup, which puts Draymond Green at the five.

While the Warriors are expected to play plenty of Death Lineup in the postseason, having a reliable “traditional” center is also important. Bogut wasn’t great in Dallas, only playing 26 games due to injuries and shooting 47 percent from the field. However, because the familiarity between the two sides exists, you have to wonder if Golden State is considering pursuing him.

Of course, Bogut would also have to choose the Warriors if he does hit the open market. ESPN’s Marc Stein reports that Houston plans to pursue Bogut, and the Cleveland Cavaliers may also be interested.