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Scotto: I think by the trade deadline, he could be arguably one of the biggest names that teams are trying to pry. I think Fat Joe said it best when it comes to Bojan Bogdanovic’s trade market value with the Pistons, “Yesterday’s price is not today’s price!”
Now that Detroit has extended Bogdanovic and signed him through the 2024-25 season, which is only partially guaranteed, and the fact that Bogdanovic was at one point this season the only player averaging 20 points on 50/40/85 shooting splits.
As I reported Tuesday on HoopsHype, the Lakers, Heat, Mavericks, Hawks, and other playoff-caliber teams have expressed interest in trading for Bogdanovic.
James, from your standpoint, being around the team every day, have you heard of other teams specifically who’ve expressed interest in trading for Bogdanovic? What could the price be to pry him from Detroit? As you, Shams and myself have said, Detroit doesn’t want to move him now, but what would it take to tickle their fancy?
Edwards: The teams you listed are pretty much the teams I’ve heard… It’s an interesting situation because the Pistons are near the bottom of the standings. Bogdanovic has shot the ball lights out and is playing arguably the best basketball of his life. Logic would say the Pistons would sell high on that, but I’m not so sure. The Pistons don’t want to be bad forever. Next season was kind of the year they wanted to break out of this rebuild and start pushing for the Play-In Tournament.
Everybody has a price. My guess is the Pistons don’t want to necessarily trade him, but if there’s an offer like an unprotected first and maybe a young player, or multiple firsts, I think that would maybe entice them to do so. Or maybe an unprotected first and a good veteran who’s under contract for a little bit longer. I think Detroit looks around at the odds of them getting someone who can score the ball like Bogdanovic for the price they have him, and they didn’t sign him to an extension to trade him. They wanted to get him in here and be a part of this.
Scotto: In life, you want to find someone who loves you as much as Pistons coach Dwane Casey loves Bogdanovic (laughs). To your point, this was a guy Detroit got relatively on the cheap for Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee when he wasn’t signed beyond this season. Then, Detroit did the work to get the extension done. That contract looking ahead, if you talk to people around the league, is going to look even better as the cap rises. His shooting is sustainable. His age doesn’t necessarily fit the timeline of this young Pistons squad, but his veteran leadership and scoring do. He’s a floor spacer, and all teams need that.
This is a team operating from a position of strength where they don’t want to move him, so you’re going to have to almost overwhelm them with an offer to get Bogdanovic. It’s likely going to take more than just an unprotected first-round pick, as you mentioned.
