Report: Pacers reach agreement on 2-year, $21M deal with Bojan Bogdanovic

Kevin Pritchard works fast. Less than an hour after making it publicly known that he would like to add shooting to the roster, it was reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that the Pacers had agreed to a two-year, $21 million deal with swingman Bojan Bogdanovic.

“You have some speed and you have some athleticism, but you have to be able to put the ball in the hole,” Pritchard said at the team’s introductory press conference for Victor Oladipo, Darren Collison, and Domantas Sabonis. “Shooting is of imperative importance for us right now.”

Bogdanovic, who averaged 13.7 points and 3.4 rebounds over 81 total games last season, posted an eye-popping effective field goal percentage of 70 percent on open catch and shoot attempts after being traded to the Washington Wizards, per Synergy.

Even with taking the team’s expectant low ceiling into account, adding much-needed floor spacing while working to thin out some of the herd of paint-bound, plodding big men is a step in the right direction toward making Indiana’s desire to play with versatility and pace more feasible.

On the flip side, if Bogdanovic’s minutes load increases as a probable starter, his defensive limitations also have the potential to prevent that ceiling from being exceeded or even reached. Tellingly, the Wizards allowed a gargantuan 123.4 points per 100 possessions in the 32 minutes that he replaced Markieff Morris in the starting lineup.

Still, he’s a cost-effective option to supplement for the loss of Paul George and (presumably) C.J. Miles in a pinch, and the second-year of his contract being partially guaranteed means that he’s also easily replaceable, if an upgrade presents itself.