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Sydney Kings coach Will Weaver believes Andrew Bogut could handle another stint in the NBA once their NBL season is over.
He might be 35 years old and nursing a bad back, but Andrew Bogut can handle another stint in the NBA if he wants one.
That's the opinion of Sydney Kings coach Will Weaver, who has been without his veteran centre for three of their past four NBL games.
Nor is Bogut a certainty to return for their final regular-season game against Illawarra on Friday, when the Kings are likely to wrap up top seeding for the finals series.
Should he be rested again against the bottom-placed Hawks, it would mean Bogut would enter the playoffs having played only one game in almost five weeks.
But Weaver makes no apologies for being cautious with last year's league MVP, who returned to the NBA after last season before entering the World Cup campaign with the Boomers.
"Oviously being no spring chicken, he's somebody that we're particularly cautious with," Weaver told AAP on Wednesday.
"So no update for you other than he's looking better."
Bogut, an NBA championship-winner with Golden State in 2015, has been carefully managed by the Kings in his second season in the NBL.
His numbers are down across the board compared to last year's MVP season.
Last summer, he averaged 11.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 blocks in 29.8 minutes per game, missing none.
This summer, he has averaged 8.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game, missing three.
Weaver is adamant Bogut will be in prime condition by the time the playoffs begin in two weeks, however the Boomers' Tokyo Olympics campaign was another major factor.
So is the possibility of yet another season in the NBL.
"We think about our players' careers. And the Olympics are a part of what Bogues is eager to participate in," Weaver said.
"But if it wasn't that, it would be trying to get another several, couple of years out of his career. Every year you can add on to somebody's career, is life-changing.
"So we take that responsibility really seriously."
Weaver even suggested Bogut could complete another playoff run with an NBA team once the NBL season concludes, as he did with Golden State last year.
It would be one way for the former NBA No.1 draft pick to maintain his fitness prior to a final shot at an elusive Olympic medal in Tokyo.
"I certainly think he could. He's got a lot to offer," said Weaver.
"I don't know if he's going to go into a starting role and play a bunch, but that's exactly what he did last year with the Warriors for a spell.
"But he could do what he's doing for us on any team on the planet. Anybody that's studied the minutes that he's played this year, sees just how impactful he still is."
