Brooklyn Nets Report: Bojan Bogdanovic One Step Closer to Return From Injury

Bojan Bogdanovic is partaking in on-court activities with the Brooklyn Nets again, sources told The New York Post’s Brian Lewis.

Bogdanovic hasn’t played since April 28 of last year, in Game 4 of the New York Knicks’ Eastern Conference playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The 35-year-old underwent season-ending surgeries to his foot and wrist in April. He is yet to play in a game for the Nets, and there has been no timeline given on that.

Bogdanovic returned to Brooklyn — he'd spent his first two and a half seasons in the NBA with the Nets — as part of the trade that sent Mikal Bridges to the Knicks. The Croatian's trade also involved Mamadi Diakite and Shake Milton, neither of whom are with the team anymore, plus a bevy of highly valuable draft picks (including four unprotected first-rounders). 

Bogdanovic will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. He is making a little more than $19 million this year. Bogdanovic has 10 years of NBA experience and has averaged 15.6 points over his 719 games in the league. Prior to hopping stateside, he'd played in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Croatia and Turkey.

At 35, Bogdanovic is the oldest member of the Nets. Brooklyn currently doesn't have anyone else over 30 years old on the squad after having traded Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith. The Nets’ most experienced players are Cam Johnson, Ben Simmons and D’Angelo Russell, all 28. 

"He's been around the team, because I think it’s very important that he builds the relationship,” Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernández said in October about Bogdanovic. “He works, everybody sees him around.”

Much like the former two on that list, there has been some trade buzz around Bogdanovic, although significantly less — likely because he hasn’t stepped on the court this season so far. He has been a complete question mark since training camp. Still, the Croatian scorer has seven seasons of playoff experience under his belt. 

He struggled to make an impact with the Knicks, but that makes more sense considering that he was never at full health with New York. Prior to that, Bogdanovic averaged 18 points per game in the 2019, and 2021 and 2022 playoffs with the Indiana Pacers and then the Utah Jazz, respectively.

Despite those previous runs, it would be natural for teams around the NBA to wonder how Bogdanovic will return following his recent foot and wrist surgeries. His age, which can be a positive for the youthful Nets, might be more of a hindrance to a different organization. Plus, Bogdanovic is undoubtedly much closer to the end of his career than any other chapter.