The Washington Wizards strengthened their bench Wednesday by acquiring swingman Bojan Bogdanovic and forward Chris McCullough from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for forward Andrew Nicholson, guard Marcus Thornton and a first-round pick, per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Bogdanovic will be a restricted free agent in the summer.
Washington has surged to the third spot in the Eastern Conference despite having one of the weakest benches in the NBA. They have badly needed more firepower on the second unit and were linked to Lou Williams before the Houston Rockets won that sweepstakes on Tuesday. Bogdanovic, a streaky shooter, has not had the lights-out season that Williams has enjoyed so far, but he can help Washington. He can explode for 20-plus points at a moment’s notice, and, at 6-foot-8, he has the size and strength to match up against bigger wings and stretch forwards.
This is the second year in a row that the Wizards have surrendered a first-round pick for an upgrade. Last year, they acquired Markieff Morris at the trade deadline. Giving up a first-rounder hurts when Bogdanovic could potentially be a rental, but getting out of Nicholson’s contract eases that pain. Nicholson has been completely out of the rotation in Washington after signing a four-year, $26 million deal last summer. McCullough is raw, but could be a nice project for the Wizards’ player development staff.
From the Nets’ perspective, this deal is a win simply because they got a first-rounder. Bogdanovic turns 28 in May and had no future with the franchise. Now they will have two picks in the 20s in this June’s draft, and they might be able to package them together to move up. In the short term, Thornton can help make up for the loss of Bogdanovic’s scoring. If coach Kenny Atkinson can turn Nicholson into a consistent stretch 4, then that’s a bonus.