Bojan Bogdanovic Embraces Bigger Role For New-Look Nets
When the Brooklyn Nets came to terms with 25-year old Croation star Bojan Bogdanovic, he was set up to replace Paul Pierce, an integral part of the Brooklyn’s second-round playoff appearance in 2014. While Bogdanovic did not quite meet expectations, he still managed to make NBA’s All-Rookie Second-Team.
With the departure of Deron Williams, Mirza Teletovic, and Alan Anderson, the Brooklyn Nets swingman expects more touches on offense and a bigger role on the team this season, according to a post on his Facebook page:
“I expect a whole new role, however not concerning the minutes spent on the court, but regarding ball allocation. I expect to have the ball more often in my possession, and thus a better season than the previous one.”
Last season, Bogdanovic finished the season averaging 13.6 points per 36 minutes and shooting 35.5% from three-point range. However, his role last season was to space the floor and facilitate the offense as a spot-up shooter. Per the Brooklyn Game, Bogdanovic ranked among the lowest of wing rotation players in frontcourt touches.
“He averaged just 19.7 front court touches in almost 24 minutes per game last season, among the lowest of wing rotation players, according to NBA.com.”
With a year of NBA experience under his belt and a new-look Nets roster, fans can expect that number to go up. Can Bogdanovic live up to his new role and continue his growth this season?
What readers said at the time
3 replies came in under this piece in 2015, and they are kept here as they were written — the readers’ words, not ours, spelling and all. The thread is closed; the desk does not take new comments.
Satya16 August 2015
I love Bojan, he has great height for a sg and sf and has a very high basketball iq! With the departure of dwill, i can see Bojan playing that point-forward position where he’ll bring the ball up
Ravi Shah16 August 2015
Interesting take. I don’t know if he can handle the ball well enough to play point-forward. Would be great if he could.
Gerald Williams16 August 2015
Of note is that he finished the season strong, as did Brook Lopez. And although his development was one of the reasons the Nets let Pierce go, it wasn’t known at the time that he’d be mostly a SG, unlike Pierce. Even writer Tim Bontemps thought that Bojan couldn’t make it as a SG. And we know that Coach Hollins would rather have a big lineup, with Bojan at the SG (means Brown mostly glued to bench). That’s also because JJ & RHJ will be getting most of the minutes at SF.
I have every reason to believe that Bogs will start off the season where he left off last April. I’ve always liked him much more that Teletovic, as a contributor to a winning team.
As always, the Nets success this season will depend on good health.