The Brooklyn Nets have won two games in a row for the first time all season and three of their last five games. Overall the Nets are playing much better basketball yet they are still 5-13 and seem like a long shot to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Because of that there has been a lot of talk about whether the Nets should make some trades and while it seemed like a no a week ago it appears they are shopping Bojan Bogdanovic now, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.
Owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who is typically far from patient, preached patience with this current team about a week ago saying that he thinks they can be good but they just need time to gel. Well the Nets have certainly looked much better recently yet this news of Bogdanovic being shopped has come out. To be fair the report says that the Nets are just gauging interest on him but that has to be a sign that they are willing to move him.
About a week ago I wrote about how the Nets don't really have much to trade in light of the talks that they should look to add assets and that is true but Bogdanovic is an interesting player to look at. Bogdanovic is currently in the second year of a three year $10 million deal and is on the books for next year at about $3.5 million so he isn't the typical expiring contract teams like to trade for but he is a cost controlled player who would likely be able to help out a contender.
Some teams might see that extra year on his contract as a reason to stay away from trading for the shooting guard but other teams might see it as a plus because it won't just be a rental. Bogdanovic is only in his second year in the NBA and after having some success as a rookie he hasn't taken the steps forward the Nets would have hoped. For starters Bogdanovic was the favorite to be the starting shooting guard but lost out on that and hasn't started a game this year and besides that he is shooting just 27 percent from three this season after making 36 percent a year ago.
The Nets have reportedly denied the rumor that Bogdanovic is being shopped, according to Nets Daily, and that would probably be smart. There is nothing wrong with gauging interest on a player but right now Bogdanovic's value is as low as it will be and there is no reason to trade him especially considering they would likely get nothing back. From other teams' perspective though Bogdanovic is someone they should look into as they might be able to get a player that can contribute for next to nothing because this is the perfect buy low time for the 26 year old.
