Brooklyn Nets Reportedly Shopping Brook Lopez, Bojan Bogdanovic
The Brooklyn Nets have reportedly been active in the trade market specifically for Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic. However, it does not appear that they are close to reaching a satisfactory deal for either player.
With the Brooklyn Nets holding nine wins 48 games into the season and no first-round draft picks in the foreseeable future, many fans have been hoping to see changes via trades. While trade rumors have picked up in recent weeks, the Nets have yet to deal any players.
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According to Keith Smith, the Nets are trying to shop Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic, but have not yet found a suitable package.
Lopez is at the center of Nets trade rumors every year, but has remained with the team that drafted him for nine seasons. However, three weeks ago, Brooklyn did lock in their asking price for the big man, which is two first-round draft picks. While Lopez’s production has not declined — in fact, his scoring is close to his season-best of 20.7 points per game — the Nets are unlikely to receive two picks (both first-round, at that) from a possible suitor.
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The one-time All-Star’s biggest shortcoming is his lack of rebounding capabilities, which has been a major concern for Brooklyn as a whole unit this season. Lopez is taking down just 5.1 boards per game, his second-lowest season average in rebounds since his injury-riddled 2011-12 season.
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Consequently, the Nets’ asking price may be too high, and a likelier package for Lopez could entail one pick and one player. On the other hand, Brooklyn might be doubtful to entertain this kind of package considering their draft pick situation, thus explaining the holdup on a deal to move Lopez.
Meanwhile, unlike Lopez, Bogdanovic has not been mentioned specifically in trade rumors, but some Nets fans have been eager to jump on possible trades incorporating the 27-year-old swingman. Bogdanovic is averaging 14.1 points per game this year and is most known for his shooting, which stands at clips of 44 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from downtown.
Despite his offensive abilities, Bogdanovic is rather infamous for being a liability on defense, which is a substantial flaw to his game. Bogdanovic’s defensive real plus-minus (DRPM), an estimate of a player’s impact per 100 possessions, is -3.11. To put this into perspective, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who has mainly been serving as a backup to Bogdanovic since returning from an ankle injury and is one of the Nets’ better defenders, has a DRPM of 0.26.
It’s unclear what exactly the Nets are looking to get in return for the Croatian or if they’re attempting to shop both him and Lopez in the same package, but with the trade deadline of February 23 looming, Brooklyn is running out of time to move either player.