Službena Web Stranica CroHoops Lige

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On Monday, Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) had a chance to officialy present himself to NJ Nets staff, fans and associated media. He finally addressed the nature of his contract with Fenerbahce.

Although he would prefer to remain in Turkey for the next two years, Nets GM Billy King has his name high on the agenda and will give his best try to land him already next summer, just before the start of the Nets first season in NY Brooklyn.

With all the speculation about the amount of cash which Nets have paid to Timberwolves going on, independent source special to CroHoops.com confirmed that this amount “is well below 2 million US$ and the Nets are very pleased with the move which they have made.”

G/F Bojan Bogdanovic (photo by Cibona.com)

After the Nets used a series of draft day swaps and landed Croatian swingman Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) ESPN analyst Chad Ford labelled the move as “a steal for the Nets, perhaps one of the biggest steals of the (Draft) night.”

Brandon Putre/Bleacherreport.com wrote that “The ever sneaky GM Billy King should be locked up for the theft he committed to open the second round of the draft.”

The same site goes even further in recognizing Bogdanovic’s potential trade value and builds up a trade theory that Bojan could help Nets in bringing over Orlando’s superstar Dwight Howard (!).

Independent basketball expert close to CroHoops.com grades Bogdanovic “as the new millennium version of the legendary Nets SG Drazen Petrovic, who enjoys to excel, but who will need to demonstrate the same level of desire and determination in order to be successful in the NBA. He will need to work, day in and day out to prove that he belongs to that level.”

The amount of publicity Bogdanovic received in the last couple of days is just incredible. New Jersey Nets organization as well as their community are becoming more and more aware they have landed one of the most intriguing European basketball prospects besides Rubio, Vesely, Mirotic…

But it seems that the Nets organization and the fans will have to wait for a couple of years. According to 24sata.hr/Ivan Zuric Bogdanovic has firmly decided to stay on European soil:  “I will work off two years of my contract with Fenerbahce and then we shall see. I want to play in Europe, continue to improve, there is time for NBA…”

Today, Nets will introduce all three of their 2011 Draft picks, including Bogdanovic, who has already spoken (VIDEO) with the New Jersey Nets related media after one of his predraft workouts.

Danko Cvjeticanin, Nets’ European scouting coordinator

New Jersey Nets’ European scouting coordinator Danko Cvjeticanin released the following exclusive statement regarding the series of draft day trades which made Croatian swingman Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) potential future member of the New Jersey Nets organization.

“From the begining of the Draft Bogdanovic was our choice together with Brooks whom we had choosen in the first round. Because of that all of the transactions we made were created in our Draft room.

He (Bogdanovic) is a player who has extremely improved over the last two seasons. Not only that he is an excellent shooter, but he also became offensive threat with his ability to penetrate and even as a low post option. In the last 7 days Bojan has visited New Jersey Nets twice and showed us that he is a top notch talent.

We are very pleased and happy that we have landed Bojan and we hope that after his successful Euroleague campaign for Fenerbahce he will continue his basketball career on the  blazing trail which legendary Drazen Petrovic’s made in the New Jersey Nets organization.”

G/F Bojan Bogdanovic, Croatia

Croatian swingman phenom Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) had quite an interesting and unpredictable 2011 NBA Draft night as he was involved in a series of Draft day trades.

First he was selected by 2011 NBA finalist Miami Heat with 31st pick overall. This was just too good to be true in Bogdanovic’s ears until Pat Riley decided to deal him just after the Draft.

The Miami Heat have then acquired the draft rights to guard Norris Cole, 28 overall pick, from Minnesota in exchange for Bogdanovic and a second-round selection in 2014.

However that was not the end of Bogdanovic one-night virtual journey. He was again traded, this time from Minnesota Timberwolves to New Jersey Nets for cash considerations.

NBA Draft source close to CroHoops.com has shared his opinion on the matter:
“At the end of the day, Nets have indeed found a “diamond in the rough”. It’s true that he needs to polish his game (in Europe), but his skills and athleticism, combined with extensive Euroleague experience, make Bogdanovic a very interesting player in anyone’s eyes.

Bogdanovic is now projected to stay in Europe for another season, most probably with Turkish champion Fenerbahce Ulker which is coached by Croatian international Neven Spahija.

Bojan Bogdanovic (photo by Cibona.com)

According to 24sata.hr/Toni Horvat Croatian NT swingman Bojan Bogdanovic (6’7”/1989) is looking forward to be chosen in 2011 NBA Draft which will be held tonight in Newark, New Jersey. After as many as 6 reported NBA workouts in the last 2 weeks Bogdanovic hopes he will hear his name:

“The workout process is full of testing; I had to fill out sheets with 150-200 questions about myself, family…They want to see what kind of man you are. The workouts have been hard, they want to see how we function under pressure, when we are tired.

At some workouts you hit every possible shot and you are labeled as “extra class” and at some workouts you look ridiculous. But I think I did quite well.

I wanted to see if I could play with my American counterparts. I really do not know who could choose me in the draft and I do not know whether I would leave Europe immediately or if I would play some more ball in Europe.

My decision would depend on the specific team’s depth chart on my position and whether they need me immediately…But I would not be interested if I would not be guaranteed to play 15 minutes per game. Playing in the NBA? God Please…It’s my dream!”

With as many as three European players likely to be selected amongst the top 10 picks in 2011 NBA Draft, Bogdanovic now seems very aware that his recent verbal commitment to Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce Ulker had a negative impact on his overall NBA Draft stock.

Bojan Bogdanovic (photo by Cibona.com)

According to Sam Amick of SI.com, Portland Trail Blazers may be targeting Croatian G/F Bojan Bogdanovic with the 21st pick of 2011 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for June 23rd.

Here is the complete excerpt from the article: “A source says the Blazers have eyes for swingman Bojan Bogdanovic of Croatia and could gamble on the impressive shooter in this spot.”

22-Year old Bogdanovic impressed numerous scouts while providing both leadership and
scoring punch for the struggling Croatian powerhouse Cibona Zagreb last season.

Tomislav Zubcic and Leon Radosevic (photo by gol.hr)

According to nbadraft.net Cibona Zagreb talented forwards Tomislav Zubcic and Leon Radosevic have withdrawn their names from Early Entry list prior to the deadline on June 13th 2011. Cibona is looking forward to build it’s future roster around the 21-year old forward duet.

Radosevic has reportedly sustained still uncategorized leg ankle injury after coming down on one of the player’s foot while in Treviso. He could be lost for Croatian NT plans this summer. Zubcic is looking forward to take the rest of the week off before joining Croatian “B” N.

As much as 14 out of 20 early entry international applicants have withdrawn their applications. Partizan Belgrade forward Jan Vesely, who stayed in, is currently listed as the top ranked international player at #5 in nbadraft.net’s 2011 NBA Draft mock draft.

Here is a complete list (source: NbaDraft.net/Aran Smith):

International Early Entry Withdrawals

Andrew Albicy Paris-Levallois (France)
Furkan Aldemir Karsiyaka (Turkey)
Nihad Djedovic Lottomatica Roma (Italy)
Manolis Koukoulas Ilysiakos (Greece)
Joffrey Lauvergne Chalon] (France)
Abdoulaye Loum Le Havre (France)
Lucas Nogueira Estudiantes II (Spain)
Femi Oladipo Crailsheim (Germany)
Leon Radosevic Cibona (Croatia)
Negueba Samake Rouen (France)
Tornike Shengelia Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium)
Abdel Kader Sylla Nancy (France)
Jonas Wohlfarth Bottermann Telekom (Germany)
Tomislav Zubcic Cibona (Croatia)

Staying in Draft

Davis Bertans Union Olimpija (Slovenia)
Bismack Biyombo Fuenlabrada (Spain)
Nikola Mirotic Real Madrid (Spain)
Donatas Motiejunas Benetton Treviso (Italy)
Jonas Valanciunas Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Jan Vesely Partizan (Serbia)