NBA Trade Grades: Wizards To Acquire Bojan Bogdanovic From Nets
Washington Wizards
As winners in 15 of their last 17 games, the Wizards’ rise up the Eastern Conference standings has been meteoric. Despite starting the season 3-9, Washington now sits at third in the East — only two games behind the Boston Celtics for the 2-seed.
The team’s starting five of John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter Jr., Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat is firing on all cylinders, boasting a +5.0 plus/minus that ranks third among all starting lineups in the association (trailing only the mighty Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers). Their Net Rating of +6.9 ranks sixth in the NBA among all starting units as well.
Unfortunately, Washington’s second unit ranks 26th among all NBA benches in plus/minus (-2.2), and 28th in Net Rating (-5.8). Adding a shooter like Bogdanovic, who is averaging 14.2 points per game on 35.7 percent shooting from three-point range, should help in that regard.
Bogdanovic will bolster a WAS bench even at the risk of a first and possible 3 month rental. Savings help with RFA of Otto Porter.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 22, 2017
Bogdanovic doesn’t completely cure what ails Washington’s lackluster second unit, but he could be something of a Band-Aid for one of the NBA’s best starting fives.
Even better, by getting Nicholson’s disastrous contract off the books, along with Thornton’s minimum salary deal, the Wizards have better positioned themselves for Porter’s upcoming restricted free agency.
Bogdanovic is also a restricted free agent this summer, but the Wizards’ No. 1 priority will be clearing enough space to keep their young wing who is suddenly leading the NBA in three-point efficiency.
Getting rid of Nicholson, who wasn't in rotation/3 yrs left on deal, creates potential room 4 Wiz to re-sign Otto Porter (RFA) this summer.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 22, 2017
If they can keep Bogdanovic for the extended future and use him to bolster the bench, great. If not, he’ll be a three-month rental who will help Washington make a postseason run at the cost of a late first-rounder.
However, even in that worst-case scenario, the Wizards still managed to get that ugly Nicholson deal off the books. The 27-year-old power forward didn’t have a spot in the rotation anyway, so this is a win for Washington, who can potentially match offers on Bogdanovic this summer.
Chris McCullough may never amount to anything, but he was a high upside pick coming into the draft and is still only 22 years old. Who knows? Maybe a year or two to shake off the rust in a winning environment will help get his NBA career on track.
Next: 2017 NBA Trade Deadline: Grades For All 30 Teams
Though it cost the Wizards a first-rounder, this team is all in on its 2017 playoff aspirations and needed to make a move for some bench scoring. Bogdanovic should provide that and McCullough could wind up being a nice throw-in one day.
Grade: A-