The Detroit Pistons and Bojan Bogdanovic agreed to a contract extension Sunday.
Bogdanovic will be on the books beginning next season for two years and $39.1 million, according to a report from ESPN. The Pistons (1-5) acquired Bogdanovic in a trade with the Utah Jazz in September and had immediate interest in locking in the veteran sharpshooter long term, according to a source familiar with the situation. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
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The Croatian has been the Pistons’ best and most consistent player through the first six games of the season, averaging 23 points on 51.7% shooting and 51.1% shooting from 3-point range on 7.8 attempts per game. Bogdanovic, previously a secondary option on playoff teams with the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers, has seamlessly found his groove with a rebuilding Pistons team in need of his contributions on offense. He has also embraced his role as a mentor in the locker room.
“Whenever I step on the court, I want to win the game,” Bogdanovic said after Wednesday’s 118-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in which he scored 33 points. “That’s the case even here, I know that we are a young team, but it’s the same situation that I had all my career with the Jazz, Pacers, or whatever. But I still want to win the game and every single player on the court is doing the same and trying to play hard. You mention green light, I’ve been second or third all my life and coming over here, nothing’s changed. There’s Cade and some other guys in front of me, but I’m just trying to be aggressive and take whatever is there on the court.”
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Bogdanovic, who turns 34 in April, is making $19.3 million this season, and will make an average of $19.6 million in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. The move eats into the Pistons’ cap space for next season, when they were projected to have among the most in the NBA in the summer.