2017-18 Pacers Player Reviews: Bojan Bogdanovic
By Dylan Hughes
What Does the Future Hold for Bojan Bogdanovic?
Bojan Bogdanovic has certainly earned the right to return next season. Whether he does or doesn’t will depend on which direction the Pacers want to go.
Bogdanovic is slated to make $10.5 million next season but is guaranteed just $1.5 million of that. Indiana will likely fully guarantee that, but that doesn’t mean they will keep him around.
Indiana has two paths to take this summer: hold everything together with minor tweaks or sell high on assets in a big trade.
If they go the second route, Bogdanovic could certainly be shipped out. That isn’t a guarantee, of course, but his salary would be helpful in any deal in which the Pacers acquire an upgraded starter.
If the Pacers were to acquire a bigger name, they would probably prefer to deal Darren Collison. Bogdanovic is more of a deadly shooter and is a better defender than Collison, making it easier for him to play multiple positions and with different types of players.
Collison, coming off a near 50-40-90 campaign, may never have a higher trade value—so acting upon that and getting a good return for him would make sense.
Whether it’s in a bench role or returning to the starting lineup, I think a lot of Pacers fans would like to see Bogdanovic return to Indiana next season. After all, he did make up for his mistake against Boston—doesn’t he deserve a shot to make up for his rough Cleveland series?
He may not get the chance. But if he does, hopefully, he rewards the Pacers with an even better season.