Bogdanovic says he is staying in the NBA at least one more year
Representatives for the Serbian guard told European clubs Bogdanovic plans another season in the NBA, cooling talk of a return to Partizan and the EuroLeague.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic's representatives told European clubs the guard wants at least one more NBA season.
- The Los Angeles Clippers hold a 16 million dollar team option they must pick up by June 26.
- If the Clippers decline, the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets see him as a priority before free agency opens on June 30.
- Bogdanovic, 33, played only 23 games last season, with a career-low 7.4 points per game.
Phones in a handful of European front offices rang this week with the same message from across the ocean. The people who handle Bogdan Bogdanovic’s affairs sat down and told the executives in Belgrade, Istanbul and Madrid exactly what they wanted, or did not want, to hear: the Serbian guard plans to stay in the NBA for at least one more season.
That, for now, cools the talk that has been circulating through EuroLeague corridors for months. A return to Partizan, a scenario part of the fan base was already celebrating, stays in the drawer. Back in March, asked about a possible homecoming, Bogdanovic answered calmly and without drama. He said his head was on the current season and that he did not want to make a decision while the games were still being played. Now that decision appears to be made, and it does not lead back to Europe.
Why is the message coming now?
The timing is no accident. The Los Angeles Clippers hold a team option on Bogdanovic’s contract worth 16 million dollars, and the deadline to exercise it falls on June 26. The club is doing its math ahead of a new market, and the player’s camp is doing its own. The message to European clubs is, in essence, a way of closing that door before anyone knocks on it seriously.
The Clippers, however, are expected not to pick up the option. If that happens, Bogdanovic becomes an unrestricted free agent, free to choose his next club. And one familiar voice already stands out on the list of suitors. The Denver Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic, view the Serbian guard as a priority before free agency opens on June 30. Two national team teammates who know each other inside out on the floor, in the same NBA club, is a story that tells itself.
For Partizan and the EuroLeague, the message is clear and a touch cold. The plan is being built across the ocean, not in Humska Street.
What comes next
Last season’s numbers open the other side of the story. Bogdanovic played only 23 games, with a career-low 7.4 points per game. For a player who was for years one of the most dangerous shooters at both club and national level, that is a figure you do not overlook. At 33, injuries and reduced minutes start to dictate how much time anyone gets in a tighter rotation.
That is why his message to Europe is both brave and risky at the same time. He is choosing the NBA path despite a season many would happily skip, betting that in the right role, perhaps next to Jokic, he still has something to say. The next two weeks supply the answer: first the Clippers’ decision by June 26, then the market opening on June 30. Only then will we know whether the message was confidence or the last big wager of a career.
Would you like to see Bogdanovic and Jokic in the same NBA jersey, or is it finally time for the Serbian guard to come home?
