NBA Trade Rumor: Mavericks Among 'Teams in Pursuit' of Pistons' Bojan Bogdanovic

With trade season rapidly approaching, the Mavericks may have their eyes set on a certain Detroit Pistons forward to pair alongside Luka Doncic.

Michael Mulford | Jan 5, 2023

The Dallas Mavericks (22-16) are playing their best basketball of the season as they've won seven-straight games, jumping into the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

Luka Doncic is playing like an MVP and Christian Wood has emerged as the starting center with a potential contract extension now being on the table, as his chemistry with Doncic and rim protection has quickly ascended.

But ... even through seven straight wins, there's always room for improvement, especially if that means acquiring a trusted veteran scoring threat to play alongside Doncic.

In a report on Thursday regarding trade options for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Yahoo Sports! mentioned Detroit's Bojan Bogdanovic as a potential fit, but there's many suitors for the Pistons wing, including the Dallas Mavericks.

At this juncture, the Pistons are seeking at least one first-rounder and either a young player with upside or additional draft capital, sources said, plus Cleveland has company in Dallas, Phoenix and the Lakers, among other teams in pursuit of Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic has been linked to Dallas as a potential trade target for some time now, as he'd fit seamlessly alongside Doncic and has a budding friendship with the Mavericks superstar, who is averaging 21.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 42.2 percent from 3-point range.

For Nico Harrison and the Mavericks, they must be picky on what deal makes the most sense to pull the trigger on that contains one, or both, of their trade eligible first-round picks. Sending one first-rounder for Bogdanovic, who just signed a a two-year extension following being traded to Detroit, sounds about right -- but if a second first-rounder is demanded from the Pistons, that's probably when you hang up the phone.

Though Dallas is streaking and sitting in the No. 4 spot in the West, their current roster doesn't seem to be enough to truly contend in the long term with the astronomical usage stacked on Doncic's plate.

For the right price, Harrison and company should jump at the chance of acquiring Bogdanovic before February's deadline.

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Published Jan 5, 2023

MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.