Nets Close To Deal With Bojan Bogdanovic

SUNDAY, 9:54am: Sources say that the Nets intend to sign Bogdanovic sometime this coming week, tweets Youngmisuk, who also notes that the departure of Paul Pierce could open up minutes for Bogdanovic and Sergey Karasev.

TUESDAY, 9:03am: The Nets are almost certain to sign draft-and-stash prospect Bojan Bogdanovic, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. A source told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com that the 25-year-old forward would agree to an three-year arrangement for the taxpayer’s mid-level exception, with a player option in the final season (Twitter link), a framework that Bontemps pointed to earlier. Such a deal would be worth $3.278MM this year and total nearly $10.277MM over the three seasons.

The 6’6″ Bogdanovic and the Nets agreed to a deal for slightly less last season, but his buyout from Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker caused the pact to unravel, and he remained overseas. The former 31st overall pick’s production was down in most categories this past season, as he averaged 13.4 points and 35.0% three-point shooting after putting up 14.3 PPG and 38.7% three-point shooting in 2012/13. Still, his assists per game went from 1.7 to 2.2, indicating that he took on a larger role as a facilitator.

The Nets seemed to originally have their mid-level earmarked for Shaun Livingston, but with his departure for the Warriors, it looks like Bogdanovic has emerged as the club’s next biggest target. Once the mid-level’s gone, the Nets will only have the minimum salary to use on free agents from other teams, so it appears as though much will be riding on Bogdanovic’s ability to contribute next season. Bogdanovic is not to be confused with Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Suns drafted 27th overall last month.

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