Bojan Bogdanovic playing an exhibition to honor one of the late, great Nets is the first sign he will be ready for training camp with Brooklyn.
Four months after having foot and wrist surgery at the end of April, Bogdanovic, 35, is slated to return to the court next month in Croatia as part of a celebration of Drazen Petrovic, according to reports from Europe.
It will be his first game since getting hurt in the playoffs with the Knicks, and suggests he will be ready when the Nets start training camp on Oct. 1.
When Bogdanovic had the surgery, it was reported that he’d be reevaluated in three months.
That would be July, and though there has been no word on his progress, this bodes well.
Bogdanovic committed to play on Sept. 5 in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, in an exhibition to honor what would’ve been Petrovic’s 60th birthday later this year, on Oct. 22.
Like Petrovic, Bogdanovic has played for both Croatia and the Nets.
The former All-NBA Third Team selection for New Jersey died at 28 in a tragic 1993 auto accident in Germany, when Bogdanovic was just four years old.
Bogdanovic started his NBA career in Brooklyn, playing for the Nets from 2014-17 before being dealt.
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He was brought back as part of the Mikal Bridges trade this offseason.
Despite questions as to whether he would seek a buyout, Bogdanovic has been quiet since the trade.
The sweet-shooting Bogdanovic has averaged 15.6 points in a decade-long NBA career on .460/.394/.859 splits, including 15.2 points on .454/.398/.785 in 2023-24.
But it was a tale of two seasons, pouring in 20.2 points on .468/.415/.779 with rebuilding Detroit before joining the Knicks at the deadline.
The small forward saw his production and efficiency plummet to just 10.4 points on .430/.370/.800 in 29 games, hindered by the wrist injury before hurting the foot in the postseason.
