Australian Andrew Bogut expects Dallas Mavericks to trade him soon

Australian centre Andrew Bogut, who was traded to the Dallas Mavericks from Golden State Warriors during the NBA offseason, expects to be on the move once again ahead of February's trade deadline.

Bogut won a championship with the Warriors in 2015 and nearly won another ring in 2016 until the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 3-1 finals deficit before clinching the title in a hard-fought Game 7 at the Oracle Arena.

Following Golden State's finals collapse, the front office traded Bogut, besides letting go off free agents Harrison Barnes, Festus Ezeli, Brandon Rush, Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa just to accommodate superstar Kevin Durant, who joined the Warriors on a two-year max contract.

While the chopping and changing of the roster hasn't affected Golden State's winning ways, the super team hasn't been able to fill the void left by Bogut, who was the team's primary rim protector since the 2012-13 season. The Mavericks traded for Bogut after striking out during their pursuit of Hassan Whiteside, who returned to Miami Heat on a four-year contract extension.

Andrew Bogut expects to be traded soon...

Bogut, who became the first Australian to be drafted No. 1 overall back in 2005, acknowledged that his time with the Mavs was about to end. “Thankfully I’m a free agent here so I only have a couple of months more here and then will most likely move on. I don’t see myself hanging around with everything that’s gone on. It will be an interesting six months ahead," said Bogut, who has featured in only 19 of Dallas' 35 games this season due to various reasons which include coach Rick Carlisle's insistence to invest in the youth.

The Victorian is still highly valued around the league, especially by championship contenders needing rim protection and veteran leadership during the playoffs. Since the Mavericks are expected to miss the postseason, Bogut's name has been thrown around in the rumour mill for a few weeks.

While general managers could be hesitant to part with valuable assets, Bogut could still fetch the Dallas Mavericks a first round draft pick. And Bogut realises that. “I’ve got a valuable contract ... having four months left on my contract I’m a valuable commodity to be moved,” he said during an appearance on Sky Sports Radio, via news.com.au.

Meanwhile, Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas' long time franchise player, credited Bogut for being professional about losing his starting role. “That’s a veteran move (for him to give up the starting role). That’s a guy who has obviously been around and won a championship. Everybody has got to sacrifice a little.

Coach Carlisle praised Bogut's character. “I don’t like this. He (Bogut) shouldn’t be coming off the bench. But, the fact that he’s not only willing, but basically offered to, tells you a lot about his character.

“He wants to win. And he’s a proud guy. He deserves to start. They both do. But we haven’t been able to make it work really well. So, this is where we were," the Mavs coach said after his team's 113-105 win over Washington Wizards on Tuesday.

Andrew Bogut has been linked with the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers in recent weeks.