The rumor mill is rapidly warming as the NBA trade deadline nears and one of the latest reports suggests that the Timberwolves are interested in Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic.
From Brett Siegel of Clutch Points:
Hawks veteran Bogdan Bogdanovic has drawn attention from the Minnesota Timberwolves in recent weeks, sources said. However, Minnesota's cap situation and Bogdanovic's contract do not line up well. In attempts to upgrade their roster, the Timberwolves have shown a level of willingness to discuss Kyle Anderson's future, seeing as he is in the final year of his contract.
Bogdanovic is averaging 17.1 points off the bench this season and he’s hitting 36.9% of his 3s, which is below his career average of 38.5%. He has hit four 3-points in three straight games and has 15 in his past five games.
He’s a shooting guard so he wouldn’t solve Minnesota’s need for a backup point guard, but he would be an ideal candidate to join Naz Reid as potent offensive players off the bench.
According to The Athletic, the price to get Bogdanovic is probably a first-round pick and expiring salary. Would the Hawks take a future first-rounder? That would probably need to be the case because Minnesota can only swap first-round picks in 2024 and few teams would find that appealing since Minnesota owns one of the best records in the league.
Purely speculating, Minnesota could offer something like their 2028 first-round pick with Anderson and Shake Milton.
Bogdanovic, 31, also has three years and $49 million remaining on his contract, which is a tough one for the Wolves since his deal would make it harder for them to avoid paying the luxury tax next season.
Of course, they could acquire him for the stretch run and playoffs and then trade him over the summer. Or they could just pay the tax…
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