The Phoenix Suns have an interesting approach in building their roster at the moment. They signed Tyson Chandler as a free agent, gave a big extension to Brandon Knight and reportedly want to trade Eric Bledsoe. It is unclear whether they are rebuilding or going for it at this point, but one guy who appears to be part of the future is Bogdan Bogdanovic, their 2014 first round pick. Bogdanovic is reportedly in their 2016-17 plans if he has another "monster season" in Europe, according to Pro Basketball Reporter David Pick.
Bogdanovic was selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and was chosen with the idea of being stashed in Europe for a few years. Bogdanovic is still only 22 years old but already has more than four years of professional experience.
The young shooting guard was recently named the Euroleague Rising Star for the second consecutive year. The last guy to do that was Nikola Mirotic who is coming off a great rookie season with the Chicago Bulls.
Bogdanovic stands at 6-6 and is considered a combo guard in Europe but will likely slot in as a shooting guard when he transitions to the NBA. His career three-point percentage in the Euroleague is 36 percent while his field goal percentage sits at 39 percent. Bogdanovic reportedly struggles with consistency on his shot, but that is something that could possibly come with age and more experience.
Bogdanovic was a member of the Serbian national team that lost to the United States in the finals of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and had a very good tournament. He averaged 12 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the field.
Bogdanovic had his best professional season in 2013-14, his last season with Partizan, when he averaged 14.8 points per game and shot 37 percent from three-point range. Last season was his first with Fenerbahce and he was immediately placed in the starting lineup. His numbers went down a little bit but not so much that there was concern raised about his development.
As long as Bogdanovic takes a step forward this season it appears the Suns are willing to bring him to the NBA. They reportedly said he will come over if he has a "monster season," but improving upon his consistency and shooting percentage should do the trick.
