He has looked at it from every conceivable angle, from every rational point of view. Still, newest Net Keith Bogans can’t figure out what happened in Chicago.
He was waived and shown the door. That much he knows. The why, he’s not too sure about.
“I never talked to them, they never talked to me. Only time I talked to them was when I found out I got waived,” said Bogans, who made his first start for the Nets last night — ironically against the Bulls team he started every regular season and playoff game for last season. “They held me all the way to the deadline and then waived me. So that was kind of screwed up but it’s a business. [Stuff] happens.”
For the Nets, [stuff] this season has largely been injuries — they had nine guys last night for a 108-87 wipeout loss. The insertion of Bogans (20 minutes, 7 points) for Anthony Morrow gave the Nets their 13th different starting lineup in their 26th game.
“We’re really down in bodies and the schedule has been really hard on everybody. Keith Bogans just got here and he’s already starting and playing 20-plus minutes,” Deron Williams said afterwards.
Coach Avery Johnson explained his choice of Bogans, noting the Bulls are “pretty big on the perimeter at the two and three spot” but noted above all: “Who else do I have to start?”
The Nets were down MarShon Brooks (broken toe), DeShawn Stevenson (sore knee) and Morrow (death in family) at off-guard spot. But their glaring need remains at small forward where Stephen Jackson has been suggested as a trade target but has been waved off by others around the Nets. Damion James began the year as the starting three. He is lost for the year (foot surgery).
Bogans gladly accepted the start. On Dec. 9, he was pulled out of Bulls practice. Then the waiver came Dec. 16 shortly before his $1.728 million contract had to be guaranteed.
“It definitely put a chip on my shoulder but I didn’t let it affect me in a negative way,” Bogans said.
“It was surprising, when I walked in the gym they told me I wasn’t practicing, after they had seen me there all week,” Bogans explained. “That was kind of like a slap in the face a little bit…I’ve been through a lot…but never been through something like that.”
So you would not be wrong to say some bitterness resides inside Bogans, who was signed by the Nets Wednesday after sitting out nearly two months. He went home to Orlando (where he had two stints with the Magic and was a Dwight Howard teammate). So he stayed in shape and FINALLY got a call from his new agent — Dan Fegan (he represents Howard). Last night he got the start he wanted. But that start wouldn’t be the end. Bogans said he would have something against the Bulls “every time I play them for the rest of my career.”
And while he stayed in good shape, it is taking time to get re-acclimated.
“It’s like, I keep joking, putting a Chevy in the garage all winter and then taking it out for spring and trying to make it go from zero to 60,” Bogans said. “It’s going to sputter a little bit before it gets going. I’m just going to fight through it . . . My body will get used to it.”
One thing Bogans is used to from Chicago is playing with a great point guard. After Derrick Rose with the Bulls, he is now with Deron Williams.