Bogdan Bogdanovich has been a solid three-point shooting role player off the bench for most of his nine-year NBA career. He's also a friend of Nikola Jokic and a teammate from the Serbian national basketball team, so the two have chemistry together. But if the latest report is true, it would amount to their first NBA pairing, but it only makes sense for the Denver Nuggets at the right price.
And that price would be a minimum contract. The "unofficial" news comes from Dorda Matic at Meridian Sport, that the Nuggets will have the veteran wing on their radar if the Los Angeles Clippers don't pick up Bogdanovic's $16 million team option. It would be understandable why the Clippers wouldn't want to pay that much for Bogdanovic, and exactly why a minimum contract is the only play the Nuggets should consider.
Bogdanovic has big injury concerns and regressing scoring
Bogdanovic was limited to just 23 games for the Clippers last year due to a myriad of injuries, and he scored just 7.4 points after declining from 10.8 points in 2024-25 and 16.9 points in a healthy 79 games in 2023-24. His play is not something that warrants anything more than a minimum contract. However, at a minimum, contract, with his three-point sniping ability paired with his and Joker's chemistry, it could be worth exploring.
Bogdanovic is a career 38.1% three-point shooter, and in 30 games in 2024-25 for the Clippers, he shot 42.7%. The shooting won't be going anywhere, but the volume and production could be gone. But Bogdanovic will be just 34 next year, and he still has gas left in the tank for a small bench role at a minimum salary for a cash-strapped team. Who better to offer him the cheap final roster spots than the Nuggets?
Bogdanovic has a downside, but the Nuggets need roster fillers
It's not all sunshine and rainbows, even on a minimum deal for Bogdanovic. The Nuggets need defense next season, and they won't find that here. The Nuggets would be much better off going with Keon Ellis for defense if they could sign the free agent to a minimum deal. Bogdanovic may not crack the rotation next year.
Ellis could actually be a rotation player for the Nuggets who plays good defense, shoots the three, and isn't coming off an oft-injured season. The problem with Ellis is that the Nuggets could end up in a battle to sign him, as he's a popular buy-low free agent target this offseason.
At the end of the day, the fringes of the roster are going to be filled with players on minimum contracts. The Nuggets hit a home run last year with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown. They could do okay to get a veteran like Bogdanovic at a minimum price, but they just can't have very high expectations for Jokic's friend next season if they do.
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