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John Schuhmann of NBA.com has been in Spain the last week, watching the FIBA World Cup and has come with the names of "the three young international players who really raised their stock in the last 10 days, along with five more who helped themselves out…" Topping the list is Nets rookie Bojan Bogdanovic.
The older, bigger Bogdanovic was the 31st pick of the 2011 Draft and was acquired by the Brooklyn Nets that night. They waited three years to bring him over, but their patience could pay off, because the 6-foot-7 small forward has improved quite a bit in that time.
There will be an adjustment to the speed, athleticism, and schedule of the NBA, but this guy can score, as evidenced by the 27 points he put up against France on Saturday, being guarded by NBA (or former NBA) guys Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier and Mickael Gelabale. Bogdanovic won’t exactly fill the void left by Paul Pierce, but he should play right away.
The rest of the list includes both NBA players --like Gorgiu Dieng of Senegal and Minnesota-- as well as European players like Bogdanovic's best friend, Emir Preldzic of Turkey who beat Australia with a last second shot in the knockout round over the weekend. His rights are held by the Mavericks. He also includes a lottery pick in the 2014 Draft, Dario Saric of Croatia. The Sixers will have to wait on him for two years.
Meanwhile, Brian Erni of SNY (who was not in Spain, but watched Bogdanovic play on TV, thinks it may be time to "pump the brakes" on the 6'8" swingman.
The front office, coaching staff and scouts around the league love Bojan’s skill set, and think he’ll be a very good NBA swingman. But like any player, he’s going to need time to adjust, and I hope everyone involved is ready to afford him that period of flux.
- Dieng among international guys who have raised their stock in Spain - John Schuhmann - NBA.com
- Let’s pump the brakes on Bojan Bogdanovic - Brian Erni - SNY Nets