Bogut's NBL deal "off" due to insurance issues

UPDATE: Bogut confirmed his disappointment over the news via Twitter late Thursday afternoon.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Marc Stein at ESPN is reporting that Andrew Bogut's deal with the NBL's Sydney Kings, which we reported was in the final stages of completion as of Monday, has fallen through due to insurance complications.

Bogut announced yesterday (Thursday in Australia) that he had committed to play for the Kings, but according to his US agent David Bauman, the obstacles around insuring the nearly $40 million remaining on his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks are just too great:

He's very disappointed because he was hoping to help the profile of the NBL and bring in new fans...But the risks for his outstanding money were too great.

Officials in Australia have maintained that a deal is still possible, but Bauman said the possibility is essentially dead.

I don't have to tell you how disappointing this is. The NBL was certain to benefit from Bogut's presence as it worked to build fan interest (even if the television deals failed to seize the opportunity--just ask our Aussie commenters). Bogut would get a great opportunity to work himself into game shape before the start of the NBA season (which, as an added bonus, looks like it will almost certainly be shortened). And Bucks fans would get to follow their team's best player in a competitive league to which we can all appreciate some level of emotional attachment, albeit with the slight risk that he suffer an injury in the process.

In the end, $40 million dollars is a lot of money to risk playing a sport that nearly destroyed Andrew's elbow 18 months ago, even if that was a completely freak accident. I have little doubt that Bogut's agent was reluctant to jeopardize that contract so Bogut could play a few months in his home country.

In related news, I'm becoming very frustrated with agents.