Denver Nuggets: Bogdanovic could be on radar

The Denver Nuggets, with Bogdan Bogdanovic, would give them an offense that could be feared throughout the western conference.

International players have not made it to Denver too much over the years, but Juan Hernangomez and Nikola Jokic are two of the more recognizable foreign players to have come through the organization in the last ten years.

Bogdan Bogdanovic has the classic flair of an international superstar. His wide-ranging and dynamic scoring ability have been hidden as he is caught in a hamster wheel of mediocrity in Sacramento. Bogdanovic has an unspectacular career scoring average of 13 points per game, and a decent but forgettable 37 percent three point clip.

But like so many others in Sacramento, Bogdanovic has been misused and poorly coached. Playing in a more cohesive offense that doesn’t have six different ball dominant players would do wonders for Bogdanovic. He moves without the ball extremely well, which could help unleash Jokic’s ridiculous passing ability.

Jokic playing at the top of the arc and dragging defenders toward the three point line with better perimeter shooters would stress defenses to a breaking point. The process of signing Bogdanovic is going to be difficult, however.

The likelihood that he leaves the Kings has risen in recent years, after the Kings committed huge sums to Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield. The bizarre signings of both Trevor Ariza and Corey Joseph didn’t help their chances of resigning Bogdanovic, but other teams are undoubtedly going to be bidding for the Serbian’s services.

The Nuggets do have the full mid-level exception available to them, but that $9.7 million starting figure may not be enough to sign him, particularly with the cap likely going down from that number in the future. While he wasn’t having a particularly earth-shattering contract year, he was still playing at a high enough level to warrant consideration for a deal starting in the $11 million a year range, and going higher from there.

In this day and age, you cannot have enough scoring and shooting on the roster. Adding Bogdanovic will give the team another high-flying wing with the type of athleticism, shooting ability, and end-to-end speed that the team sorely missed in the playoffs a season ago against the Portland Trail Blazers.