Many NBA franchises seem to believe that they have a realistic chance to sign a star talent in free agency. With only so many high-level free agents to go around, a player like Bojan Bogdanovic is a great realistic option for many teams to pursue.
Bogdanovic turned 30 years old in April and is coming off a season that featured a career-best average of 18 points per game while being one of the league's most efficient scorers. That is a perfect set of circumstances for him to get the first and final large contract of his NBA career and it remains to be seen whether that deal will come from Indiana or someone else.
There was expressed interest from Bogdanovic about returning to the Pacers when he talked to the media before the end of the season. He likes the potential that the team has and enjoys being around the organization. It will likely come down to their willingness to compete with other team's offers on the open market.
“I don’t know what is going to happen this offseason with free agency,” Bogdanovic said. “But I really like it here. We had two great years here and couldn’t make it to the second round, but there is a lot of potential in Victor, Myles (Turner), Domantas (Sabonis) and those players who have a contract. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I really enjoy to be around this organization.”
Bogdanovic: "I don't know what's going to happen this offseason in free agency, but I really like it here. Two great years, even if we couldn't make the second round. There's a lot of potential in Victor, Myles, Domas and those players that have still got a contract." #Pacers pic.twitter.com/q8iS8txV0N
— Bally Sports Indiana (@BallySportsIN) April 21, 2019
It is unknown what the Pacers necessarily have planned this summer and what they decide to do could certainly impact Bogdanovic's availability on the open market. While they are coming off a season that ended in the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, Victor Oladipo is coming off a season-ending injury that he suffered in late January.
The fact of the matter is that the team that Indiana put together likely had a ceiling of making it to the second round of the playoffs even with a healthy Oladipo. He is probably going to need some time to find his form next season after he returns to the lineup and that could make giving their veterans multi-year contracts less attractive.
Running it back at a high price does not seem to make too much sense for the Pacers to simply run it back with the same team if they are building towards a deep playoff run. It does not help that they are “not in the mix for top-tier free agents” so using next season to usher in a short rebuilding period may be the best option above all else.
The Pacers typically take pride in at least making the playoffs and that makes it possible that they could be interested in re-signing Bogdanovic. They could still improve their team despite bringing him back as long as they get creative and upgrade some other spots like a stretch-four or another perimeter playmaker.
If Bogdanovic does not return to the Pacers, here are some teams that should pursue him.
Dallas Mavericks
A lot of change took place for the Dallas Mavericks since the start of the season. After trading Harrison Barnes to the Sacramento Kings at the trade deadline, the Mavs created a need for a cohesive starting caliber small forward that can provide a scoring boost alongside Luka Doncic. One player that fits the mold of what they need is Bojan Bogdanovic.
It is unlikely that the Mavericks will find themselves in contention for elite wing players in free agency, so targeting a more realistic player like Bogdanovic makes a lot of sense. There is little reason to believe that they couldn't land him as long as they are willing to outbid other franchises like they did for DeAndre Jordan last summer.
There is a chance that Dallas will outright lose their first round pick during the upcoming draft to the Atlanta Hawks because they traded it last summer to move up to select Doncic. If that happens, it will need to be a priority to upgrade their roster in free agency with players like Bogdanovic.
Atlanta Hawks
There is a significant need for the Atlanta Hawks to add more offensive firepower in the offseason considering how they were one of the least efficient offensive teams in the league last season. They are a very young team that could use more reliable veterans to become a more consistent scoring attack with greater versatility.
While the Hawks already have Taurean Prince, it never hurts to add more wing players to a team that isn't deep at that spot. It is worth mentioning that they were interested in Bogdanovic during the summer of 2017 and given that he has improved significantly since then, it's tough to see why they wouldn't be interested this time too.
It could be less logical for them to pursue Bogdanovic if they end up selecting a small forward during the upcoming NBA Draft since they would have a young prospect and Prince. That is unless they were interested in potentially trading Prince before having to give him a contract extension.
Los Angeles Clippers
What the Los Angeles Clippers did this season was truly special and adding more talent to their team would only help them to build off it. They likely will be in the mix for some of the league's elite free agents but Bojan Bogdanovic would be a great ‘Plan B' for them.
They did experience a lot of success with playing Landry Shamet at the small forward spot after acquiring him in the Tobias Trade trade. However, it would not hurt to add a player like Bogdanovic to make them a deeper team that can help provide plenty of lineup combinations if they were to get creative.
The Clippers have found a lot of success with flipping players for assets in trades lately and they could sign Bogdanovic to eventually do the same with him. They could maybe even use him later as one of the main pieces in a trade package for a star player.
New Orleans Pelicans
It seems like the New Orleans Pelicans have been in need for a legitimate starting small forward throughout the entire Anthony Davis era. Unless if they were to trade Davis to the Boston Celtics for Jayson Tatum, it would make sense for the Pelicans to sign a veteran talent like Bojan Bogdanovic to help improve their offensive production.
It is unlikely that the team is going to want to undergo a total rebuild if they trade Davis. They have already struggled to fill their arena up with fans even with a superstar and tearing down the team when they still have Jrue Holiday would only make matters worse. Winning usually brings people into the building and a player like Bogdanovic would help with that.
Improving the culture of the locker room will be important for the Pelicans and that's another benefit of adding a player like Bogdanovic. He was critical in helping to turnaround a Pacers team that was widely expected to be bad after trading away Paul George and could help do the same in New Orleans during the fallout following a Davis trade.
Los Angeles Lakers
Similar to the other team in Los Angeles, the Lakers are going to be trying to sign a star player this summer but that is never a fail-safe plan. It would not be wise to finish free agency without at least signing a second-tier free agent like Bojan Bogdanovic given their need to add more talent around LeBron James.
James has experienced his greatest success when he has a lot of reliable perimeter shooters in his supporting cast and a player like Bogdanovic appears ideal for such a role. The level of cohesiveness that Bogdanovic could have with James could make him a more logical target than someone like Jimmy Butler given the difference in expected cost between the two players.
It would be almost perfect for the Lakers to pursue Bogdanovic if they managed to trade for a star like Anthony Davis or someone else and had to part with Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram to pull it off. There will be pressure for them to land a star player given the expectations that were set by Magic Johnson.
The Brooklyn Nets proved this season that they are a team that is on the rise. They will push hard for star players this summer but again, landing talents of that caliber is never a guarantee. There haven't been any specific players that have been linked to the Nets yet and while it's still early, they appear to be the team that could miss out on upper tier talents.
When Bogdanovic was traded away by the Nets, they were beginning a full rebuild. That is no longer the case now that they have D'Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen. They could use another consistent scoring option to pair with that core group and it only helps that it would make the Indiana Pacers a worse team.
Brooklyn could get creative and pursue a different position if they were to be able to land someone like Bogdanovic to fill their starting small forward role. Given that they like to shoot a lot of three-pointers, someone like Tobias Harris or Nikola Mirotic seem ideal. Adding multiple high-level perimeter shooters could make a substantial difference to their team.
If Kevin Durant leaves the Golden State Warriors in the offseason like many seem to expect him to do, it would be logical for them to sign Bojan Bogdanovic. While it still would be a significant downgrade in talent, he at least would help fill some of the offensive void with his highly efficient scoring ability as a complementary option.
It may require some creative salary cap work if he wants to go play in the Bay Area, but it should be an attractive option for him to play in that offensive system given his skill-set. Being able to play alongside talents like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green would make the game significantly easier for Bogdanovic too.
A luxury of pursuing a player of Bogdanovic's caliber is that it will not make headlines or cause any distractions. Golden State would be able to get back to relying on their original core more and that could help them hit the ground running in a post-Durant era.
