Aussies in NBA: Andrew Bogut released by Los Angeles Lakers

Aussie big man Andrew Bogut has been released by the Los Angeles Lakers.

The news was broken by Shams Charania on Twitter;

Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are releasing center Andrew Bogut. With Lakers at 11-27, this allows sides to part ways and Bogut to pivot toward signing with a playoff team.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2018

The move, with the Lakers currently sitting with the second-worst record in the league (11-27), makes sense for both sides.

The Lakers are already out of Playoff contention and with the deadline coming this weekend to guarantee partially-guaranteed contracts, shedding themselves of Bogut's contract gives them some flexibility and allows them to search for a young player to sign.

For Bogut, he can now look to sign with a team in Playoff contention. As Shams Charania says, there will be teams interested in the big man.

Bogut signed a one-year deal worth $2,328,652 ($50,000 partially guaranteed) on September 19th last year.

In his 24 games this season, Bogut has averaged 1.5 points and 3.3 rebounds, whilst shooting 68% from the field in nine minutes of game time.

Although Bogut has only played in 24 of the Lakers 38 games, he has been able to stay healthy this season - the biggest question mark that has surrounded him for many years now. Having proved that he can stay healthy will certainly help his chances of being picked up by a team in the Playoff hunt.

If Bogut is able to find a new home, it will be his fourth team since the beginning of the 2016/17 season. Having suited up for the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers last season - albeit for less than a minute for the latter - before signing with the Lakers for the 2017/18 season, Bogut is finding it tough to make it stick with a team.

There's no doubt Bogut can provide an NBA team with value and only time will tell which team that will be.

Stay tuned to The Pick and Roll for updates as they happen.