Nets Start Bojan Bogdanovic Trade Talk?

3:47pm: A league source who spoke with NetsDaily disputes the idea that the Nets are exploring trades involving Bogdanovic (Twitter link).

2:31pm: The Nets have begun to gauge the interest that other teams have in trading for Bojan Bogdanovic, sources tell Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear just how motivated Brooklyn is to move the second-year small forward, but he’s eligible for inclusion in a trade immediately, unlike offseason signees who aren’t trade-eligible until December 15th, and the Nets have two trade exceptions that expire December 11th.

Brooklyn is only about $2MM shy of the luxury tax threshold, and the team will almost certainly avoid slipping above the line, especially since the Nets would have to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they’re over the threshold on the final day of the regular season. That makes a deal that would offload Bogdanovic and his salary of more than $3.426MM theoretically more likely than one that would see the Nets use one of their exceptions to absorb salary from another team. Still, the exceptions, worth $3,326,235 and $816,482, could help the Nets facilitate a deal that cuts salary in a more complicated arrangement.

Conflicting reports emerged over the summer about whether the Nets spoke to teams about trades involving Bogdanovic before the draft, but GM Billy King said as the offseason began that he explored trades involving every player on the roster at some point last year. Bogdanovic was an instant part of the Nets rotation as a rookie last season, when he averaged 9.0 points in 23.8 minutes per game with 35.5% 3-point shooting. His long-range touch has been off this season, as he’s nailed only 26% of his 3-point attempts, but he’s otherwise logged similar numbers with a slight uptick in minutes, to 24.3 per contest.

The native of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Nets as a draft-and-stash signee in the summer of 2014, three years after he became the 31st overall pick of the 2011 draft. He inked a three-year deal for the equivalent of the taxpayer’s mid-level exception, and that contract expires after the 2016/17 season.

What do you think the Nets could get for Bogdanovic? Leave a comment to let us know.