Australian star Andrew Bogut says he’s waiting on FIBA to decide whether he will be punished for his foul-mouthed tirade at the World Cup.
FIBA is considering whether to sanction the Boomers veteran after he intimated officials were conspiring against Australia following their semi-final loss in China.
Bogut was reluctant to discuss the drama at the Sydney Kings season launch on Tuesday, but confirmed he had provided a statement to FIBA last week.
“I’ve done what I can with FIBA. I’m waiting to hear back from them. Once I hear back, I’ll comment on it further,” Bogut said.
The former NBA star has had little time to dwell on the Boomers’ heartbreaking exit, resting for four days before beginning preparations for the NBL season.
He said their fourth-placed finish still stings.
“It still hurts today, the way it all ended. Obviously disappointing how close we were once again, had the same conversation like we had after Rio,” he said.
“But it’s something for us to build on. We didn’t have our fullest strength team we could’ve had. So there are some positives going into Tokyo.”
The Kings open their season with a road trip to Cairns on Friday, and Bogut has been busy recovering from another ankle tweak in last week’s NBL Blitz.
“I’ll be good to go. (It’s) just something I carried throughout the worlds,” he said.
“Obviously did it two days before the first game of the worlds which wasn’t ideal and then tweaked it again the other night. Just had a little bit of bad luck.
“But I anticipate getting through the whole game unscathed.”
This season shapes as the last for the NBA championship-winner, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Kings and turns 35 next month.
He said a decision won’t be made until after Tokyo.
“The goal for me was always to get to Tokyo, which was a part of why I signed in the NBL,” Bogut said.
“Be around my family more first and foremost, and get to that Olympics.
“Beyond that, I’ll probably take a week or two off after Tokyo and sit with the family and decide what we want to do.
“We haven’t been settled in one place for more than a year over the last six, seven years of my career. So that definitely takes its toll when you’ve got young kids.
“So that will play into the decision.”