Bojan Bogdanovic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Gordon, McGruder, Wizards

February 26th, 2017 at 9:15pm CST by Austin Kent

The trade that sent Serge Ibaka from the Magic to the Raptors opened an opportunity for 21-year-old forward Aaron Gordon to slide from the three to his natural position at the four, writes John Denton of the team’s official website. The third-year man is readjusting to the defensive responsibilities of the power forward position.

“I need to become a better shot-blocker because I missed plenty of opportunities where I could have at least altered shots,” the Magic big man said of his first game back at power forward on Thursday night. “I was unsure of the timing, when to go and my positioning on the court.”

Previously the Magic had been using Gordon as a perimeter defender charged with the task of checking the opposing team’s best scorer. “I’m used to not over-helping and over-committing because I’m usually guarding the best player on the floor,” Gordon said. “Now, that’s not the case and I have the leniency to go help and block shots.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Undrafted rookie Rodney McGruder is making a name for himself as a scrappy, pest of a player, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. The forward has played a substantial role on a Heat team that has done nothing but exceed expectations this season. “He’s always head first, nose first into everything,” teammate Wayne Ellington said. “He makes it hard for guys when he frustrates guys.“
Backup center Willie Reed is day-to-day with ankle bursitis and didn’t travel with the team for Sunday’s matchup with the Mavs. With Reed out, the Heat will turn to veteran Udonis Haslem or an out-of-position James Johnson to handle duties at the five, says Winderman in a separate piece for the Sun-Sentinel.
The Wizards have some adjustments to make with offseason acquisition Ian Mahinmi back in the lineup and newly acquired Bojan Bogdanovic still settling in, writes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. “We’re trying to find some consistency,” said head coach Scott Brooks. “Getting Ian back, hopefully we can get him back to a stretch of games where he can play and build a chemistry with the group he’s out there with. Now Bojan so we can have him out there with that group. It’s consistency and understanding where we can get some points. I got to try to figure out what’s the best minute-wise and who plays and the matchups.“

And-Ones: Jones, Thornton, Suns, Raptors

February 25th, 2017 at 10:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans waived Terrence Jones on Thursday after being unable to find a trade partner for him and the Nets waived Marcus Thornton after acquiring him in the Bojan Bogdanovic trade. Both players have cleared waivers and are free to sign with any team, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

Jones should have no problem finding a new home. He’s a productive 25-year-old big man who was averaging 11.5 points per game in New Orleans while sporting a 16.2 player efficient rating.

Thornton may have to wait slightly longer to find a new club, but he should be able to help a team fill out the back end of its rotation.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Hawks sent $500K to the Suns as part of the Mike Scott trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). In addition to the cash considerations, Phoenix received the draft rights to Cenk Akyol for taking on Scott’s contract, while Atlanta received a protected second-round pick.
As part of the P.J. Tucker deal, the Raptors sent the Suns cash considerations of $1MM, Pincus tweets. Phoenix also received Jared Sullinger and two second-round picks in the deal. The Suns waived Sullinger on Friday.
The Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State’s D-League affiliate, has traded Cameron Jones to the Canton Charge, leagues sources tell Adam Johnson of D-League Digest (Twitter link).

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Porter, McClellan

February 25th, 2017 at 12:06pm CST by Austin Kent

Some Hawks fans were underwhelmed with Atlanta’s decision to quickly fill their roster vacancies with players they had cut previously in the year but head coach Mike Budenholzer cites their familiarity with the team’s system as the motivating factor, says Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference, well within reach of home-court advantage in the first-round if things break right in the second half of the season.

The two wings, Ryan Kelly and Lamar Patterson, have had multiple stints with the franchise, Kelly spending time with the club in training camp prior to being waived, later signed again shortly after opening day and waived once more in January and then Patterson playing last season with the franchise, getting cut over the summer and then coming back on a pair of 10-day contracts last month.

“We’ve continued to follow them closely,” Budenholzer told Vivlamore. “We feel like adding them to the group this year, not just this year because there is potential and hope that these are guys who fit us and understand how we play. Lots of time we talk about fit. We feel like Ryan and Lamar have that potential.”

Though the pair have only played in a combined 87 minutes for Atlanta in 2016/17, they’ll round out a lineup in “win-now” mode. Previously it seemed likely that the franchise would trade pending free agent Paul Millsap and embrace a rebuild but they’ve publicly changed course.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Wizards freed up cap space to make signing forward Otto Porter to an extension this summer possible. General manager Ernie Grunfeld recently spoke with J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic about just that. “We love the way that he’s developed and how he’s come along. I think Otto fits in very well with what we’re trying to do,” Grunfeld said. “I said he’s part of our core and we want to keep him here.”
Over the All-Star Break, Wizards rookie Sheldon McClellan announced that he has legally changed his name to Sheldon Mac, says Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The guard had thought about it for a while but held off for fear of complicating the scouting and drafting process he went through last year.
If the Heat want to free up a roster spot for the upcoming buyout market or even just for flexibility down the stretch, they’ll have to first deal with the Chris Bosh situation, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
Recently acquired forward Bojan Bogdanovic was looking forward to the trade that officially sent him to the Wizards. The veteran will come off the bench in Washington and tells J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic that he doesn’t think it will be that big of an adjustment.
After getting waived by the Hornets, big man Mike Tobey has returned to the Greensboro Swarm of the D-League writes Chris Reichert of The Step Back.

Nets Notes: Lopez, Lin, Dinwiddie, Nicholson, McDaniels

February 24th, 2017 at 10:43pm CST by Milo Taibi

Nets GM Sean Marks spoke to the press about Brooklyn’s trade deadline activity. While the team held onto Brook Lopez and Trevor Booker (each of whom have another year left on their contract), Marks was involved in a few lower-profile transactions.

“We’re very familiar with Andrew [Nicholson]…he’s a system fit for us,” Marks said. “He’s a stellar young man and another guy with high character and that’s exactly we’re trying to do.”

The Nets acquired Nicholson along with a first-round pick and Marcus Thornton (who was subsequently waived) in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough. Bogdanovic performed well for the 9-47 Nets, but was a restricted free agent-to-be, and was dealt for an invaluable draft pick. Marks spoke about his team’s position in the upcoming draft.

“Now having two first round picks, it all helps,” Marks said. “It helps give us another vehicle where were can be systematic with the draft and see what happens. We obviously value the draft or we wouldn’t have done it. It’s about being strategic and having two picks now gives us an opportunity to move up with those picks, you can hold them where you are if your players are there at the time.”

Nets Trade Bojan Bogdanovic To Wizards

February 22nd, 2017 at 7:53pm CST by Luke Adams

7:53 PM: The trade is official, according to a Nets’ press release.

3:01 PM: The Nets and Wizards have agreed to a deal that will send Bojan Bogdanovic to Washington, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski had previously identified the Wizards and Kings as teams with interest in the Brooklyn sharpshooter.

In exchange for Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough, who will also head to Washington in the deal, the Nets will receive Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton, and the Wizards’ 2017 first-round pick, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The pick will be lottery protected, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

Bogdanovic, who will turn 28 in April, was the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft and eventually arrived stateside to join the Nets in 2014. The 6’8″ forward is is enjoying a career year this season, with 14.2 PPG and a .357 3PT% in 55 games so far.

Although Bogdanovic is on an expiring deal, he’ll be eligible for restricted – rather than unrestricted – free agency this summer. His matching rights will now be held by the Wizards, rather than by Brooklyn, and that has some value. The Nets know first-hand that it can be difficult to steal an RFA away from another team — the club had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched in 2016.

Depending on whether the Wizards want to commit to Bogdanovic beyond the 2016/17 season, they may have to worry about re-signing two key RFAs in the summer, as Otto Porter is also on track for restricted free agency.

From the Nets’ perspective, the club gets another first-round pick in what’s expected to be a deep and talented draft. That probably makes the deal a win for GM Sean Marks, even though the Wizards’ pick currently projects to fall just 24th overall, as our reverse standings show. The Nets, of course, don’t have their own first-rounder, but they’ll also get Boston’s pick, setting them up for two selections in the 20s.

As for the financial details of the trade, the Nets had been well below the salary floor, but they’ll inch about $2.3MM closer to that mark by taking on Nicholson and Thornton, who combine to earn more than $7MM. Meanwhile, the Wizards will cut costs a little by taking on Bogdanovic ($3.57MM) and McCullough ($1.19MM). Washington should also be able to create a traded player exception in the deal worth about $2.5MM.

While Bogdanovic and Thornton are free agents at season’s end, Nicholson and McCullough are controllable through the 2018/19 season. McCullough will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of ’19, while Nicholson has a player option for the ’19/20 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Woj’s Latest: Bogdanovic, KCP, Butler, Sixers

February 22nd, 2017 at 8:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Kings still had four days to go before the 2017 trade deadline when they agreed to send DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans, but the team rushed to finalize the trade so that owner Vivek Ranadive wouldn’t change his mind about wanting to move the star center, Adrian Wojnarowski says in a podcast for The Vertical.

Both Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks were somewhat critical of the Kings, pointing out that the team should have been able to find a way to move Matt Barnes in the process of trading Cousins, rather than releasing him and eating his $6.4MM+ guaranteed salary for 2017/18. Wojnarowski also said that multiple free agents in recent years have used the Kings for leverage or turned down more money from Sacramento sign elsewhere, suggesting that the club needs to make good decisions and improve its reputation going forward.

The Vertical’s team, including Wojnarowski, Marks, and Chris Mannix, tackled many more topics within that podcast and a live chat with fans on Facebook, so let’s dive in and round up some of the highlights…

The Wizards don’t want to trade a first-round pick for a rental player, but the team does have “significant interest” in Nets sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Wojnarowski also adds the Kings to the list of teams with real interest in Bogdanovic.
Although the Pistons “love” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they’re hesitant about giving him a maximum salary contract in the offseason, so they have been open to listening to inquiries on him to gauge his value, says Wojnarowski. While Stan Van Gundy did say last month that no one on the roster is untouchable, a KCP deal seems like a long shot.
If the Bulls are going to consider moving Jimmy Butler, they’ll need to blown away by an offer, per Wojnarowski. Mannix adds that the Celtics believe Jaylen Brown has star potential and would be very reluctant to include him in an offer for Butler.
In recent weeks, the Sixers have shifted their focus from trading Nerlens Noel to trading Jahlil Okafor, but if the team doesn’t find a deal it likes for Okafor, Noel remains a trade candidate, says Wojnarowski. Although the Bulls have had “pretty consistent interest” in Okafor, Philadelphia continues to value him like a former third overall pick, and teams around the league are less bullish on his value, according to Woj.
The Rockets, Thunder, and Hawks are among the teams on the lookout for help. Mannix says Houston remains in the market for a frontcourt piece, while Wojnarowski says the Thunder are still seeking a wing scorer. Woj also notes that Atlanta is focused on building around Paul Millsap, despite the fact that he can opt out this summer.
The market for Nets center Brook Lopez is “really limited,” since the market is somewhat over-saturated with that type of player, says Wojnarowski.
The Clippers are reluctant to give up any more draft picks, particularly for rental players, so they’re a candidate to dive into the buyout market after the deadline, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that the club has had some interest in Wilson Chandler and Nikola Mirotic.
According to Wojnarowski, the Trail Blazers remain committed to Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum as core pieces, and are taking the long view on their roster rather than pushing for a playoff spot this season.

Nets Moving Closer To Trading Bojan Bogdanovic?

February 21st, 2017 at 3:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams with interest in Bojan Bogdanovic have suggested to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link) that they’re ramping up their offers. According to Wojnarowski, signs are pointing to the Nets soon choosing the best available deal for Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic, who will turn 28 in April, was the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft and eventually joined the Nets in 2014. The 6’8″ forward is is enjoying a career year this season, with 14.2 PPG and a .357 3PT% in 55 games so far.

Although Bogdanovic is on an expiring deal, he’ll be eligible for restricted – rather than unrestricted – free agency this summer. That has some value, since the team that ends up with him at season’s end will also have the opportunity to match any offer he receives in the offseason. The Nets know first-hand that it can be difficult to steal an RFA away from another team — the club had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched in 2016.

Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t name possible trade partners for Brooklyn, but there is no shortage of teams in the market for a scorer off the bench. When I previewed the trade deadline for the Atlantic teams last week, I identified Bogdanovic as a potentially intriguing under-the-radar trade candidate, given his shooting prowess and his affordable salary ($3.573MM).

Woj: Butler Trade To The Celtics Still Possible

February 18th, 2017 at 10:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

A potential trade sending Jimmy Butler from the Bulls to the Celtics will loom over deadline week, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).

In a video interview, Wojnarowski says the teams have discussed a deal involving Butler, but talks haven’t progressed very far. He adds that Chicago officials have to to fully commit to the rebuilding process before they would be willing to give up Butler.

Wojnarowski says the trade would involve one of the Nets’ first-rounders — but probably not both — that Boston owns in the next two drafts. If the Bulls get this year’s pick, Wojnarowski states they can find a replacement for Derrick Rose, who was traded to the Knicks last summer. Washington’s Markelle Fultz and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball are point guards mentioned as likely choices at the top of the draft.

Teaming Butler with Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford would give the Celtics enough firepower to challenge Cleveland for supremacy in the East, Wojnarowski states, not just this season but for years to come.

Other highlights from the interview:

The Clippers and Thunder are both potential landing spots for Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler. However, both teams are low on draft picks and may not have the assets that Denver would want in return.
The Thunder were trying to acquire Kings forward Rudy Gay before a season-ending Achilles injury.
The Wizards would like to add another wing player to their bench, with the Lakers‘ Lou Williams and the Nets‘ Bojan Bogdanovic as possibilities. Wojnarowski says Washington is willing to part with a draft pick to get veteran help.
The Suns have been shopping P.J. Tucker, Tyson Chandler and Brandon Knight, hoping to get picks or young players in return.
Chandler is one of several centers on the market, along with the Sixers‘ Jahlil Okafor, the Mavericks‘ Andrew Bogut, the Bucks‘ Greg Monroe and the Nets‘ Brook Lopez. However, there is limited interest in back-to-the basket centers. Wojnarowski speculates that one or two of them may be traded this week, but cautions that there aren’t enough buyers for all of them to be moved.
Unless something changes, Carmelo Anthony will remain with the Knicks. New York management hasn’t presented him with any deals that would tempt him to waive his no-trade clause. Most of the teams that were interested in dealing for Anthony are now “looking in other directions,” but Wojnarowski thinks the Clippers might revisit their attempt to land Anthony this summer.

And-Ones: Motiejunas, Neal, Jerrett, 2017 FAs

December 18th, 2016 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Now an unrestricted free agent, Donatas Motiejunas has more freedom than ever to decide the next step in his basketball career, even if he can no longer sign with the Nets. As he looks for a new NBA home, Motiejunas released a statement today on Twitter, announcing that he has “a lot more to give to the game of basketball, and can’t wait to get back on the court.”

“I invest so much into my craft and have worked extremely hard to stay healthy and prove myself on the basketball court, which was evident last season,” Motiejunas said. “I look forward to immediately contributing to a new team and ultimately winning championships.

“I want to thank the great fans in Houston for all of their support. I really enjoyed my time in the community. The city and people will always hold a special place in my heart as the place where my NBA career began.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

After veteran NBA guard Gary Neal signed a D-League contract earlier this week, he landed with New York’s affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, as Chris Reichert of The Step Back tweets.
Former Arizona big man and 2013 second-round pick Grant Jerrett has signed with the Beijing Ducks, Stephon Marbury’s team in China, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link).
Keith P. Smith of RealGM.com identifies 11 players on track for 2017 free agency who may be flying under the radar a little, including JaMychal Green (Grizzlies), Patty Mills (Spurs), and Bojan Bogdanovic (Nets).
Jason Concepcion of The Ringer examines some of the players who are off to underwhelming starts this season after signing lucrative new contracts over the summer, with Hornets forward Marvin Williams leading the way.

Poll: When Will Nets Make Playoffs?

September 13th, 2016 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

After making the postseason with a 38-44 record in 2014/15, the Nets fell out of contention last season, finishing with a 21-61 mark, the team’s worst showing since its 12-win season in New Jersey in 2009/10. However, while most fans and pundits expect the Nets to be among the league’s worst teams this year, at least one Brooklyn player is optimistic about the club’s chances of returning to the playoffs.

Bojan Bogdanovic, who is coming off an impressive Olympic performance in Rio and is expected to be one of the Nets’ primary scorers in 2016/17, tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post that he believes the team is capable of earning a spot in the postseason.

“They can write what they want,” Bogdanovic said. “But we’re going to work hard to give it our best. When we get in a game, we have a chance to beat anybody. It’s going to be tough, but if we play like we practice, we have a chance.”

Last year’s eight Eastern Conference playoff teams are all expected to be in the conversation once again, and lottery clubs like the Bulls, Wizards, Magic, Bucks, and Knicks also hope to contend for one of the top eight seeds. Even the Sixers added plenty of talent in the offseason and look like they have a chance to get out of the Eastern Conference cellar.

So, today’s poll won’t ask whether or not the Nets will make the playoffs this year — the response to that question would likely be overwhelmingly one-sided. Instead, we’ll ask how long it will take Brooklyn to get back to the postseason. Without their own first-round picks in either of the next two years, will it take longer than three years for the Nets to make it? Longer than five? How long do you expect the rebuild to last in Brooklyn?

Vote in our poll and weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!

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