Grading the Trade: Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough to Washington

Grading the Trade: Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough to Washington

The Brooklyn Nets traded Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough to the Wizards for Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson, and their 2017 first round pick. Both teams benefit from this trade in a way that is often rare for deadline moves.

The Brooklyn Nets traded Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough to the Wizards for Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson, and their 2017 first round pick. Both teams benefit from this trade in a way that is often rare for deadline moves.

After rumors swirled about a potential trade, the Brooklyn Nets found a trade partner for Bojan Bogdanovic. They sent Bojan to the Washington Wizards and received a much-coveted first round pick in return. Here is how the trade went down:

Brooklyn receives:   Washington receives:
Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson, and 2017 Wizards first round pick   Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough

Brooklyn Nets: B

The Nets managed to get a first-round pick in return for Bogdanovic, so the trade seems like a major victory. Bojan will enter restricted free agency at the end of this season, his third in the NBA, but he will turn 28 before the end of this season and was more than likely not a part of their future plans. This year's squad will certainly miss his scoring touch and incredible range, but this trade was entirely about trading current value for future value through the draft. The pick will likely be in the mid-20's, where the Nets have drafted Caris LeVert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in recent years.

Chris McCullough only played 72 minutes this year after starting some games down the stretch of last season. This trade might have earned a grade in the A-range without throwing McCullough in, but he is still just 22 and showed signs of being a really valuable player last year. Still, his inability to crack the Nets' rotation this year was troubling. Anyone who cannot earn minutes over Anthony Bennett might not be much of a prospect. Giving up McCullough is certainly not a dealbreaker, but it is concerning that Brooklyn gave up on him this quickly.

Andrew Nicholson is an interesting piece who was unable to secure playing time in Washington. He is theoretically a stretch-4 who had a great outside shot in college but has shot just 32.7% from deep in his NBA career. He might thrive with more playing time in Brooklyn but has been a disappointment this season. Marcus Thornton will be waived upon the completion of the trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Washington Wizards: A-

The Wizards desperately needed an additional scorer off the bench, and they got that in Bojan Bogdanovic for a relatively cheap price. The Wizards currently have the eighth best record in the NBA. They would be even higher in the standings if they had not lost eight of their first ten games, and this trade will certainly help them continue to win. Their first-round pick might end up being as late as the 25th or 26th selection, depending on whether they can catch Boston or Cleveland in the Eastern Conference standings.

They also managed to dump Andrew Nicholson, who signed a four-year $26 million contract this offseason and has played 231 minutes for the Wizards. Nicholson might be able to find a role in Brooklyn, but there was no path to minutes for him in Washington where he was basically dead salary. Thornton played some minutes in Washington, but he was remarkably inefficient--his True Shooting percentage this year is 49.4%, which ranks near the bottom of the league among shooting guards.

The Brooklyn Nets needed to acquire future assets, and the Washington Wizards needed a scorer off the bench. Both teams got exactly what they wanted out of this trade. While Chris McCullough may end up being more than a throw-in down the line, this trade makes perfect sense for both teams and helps them move towards their future goals.

After rumors swirled about a potential trade, the Brooklyn Nets found a trade partner for Bojan Bogdanovic. They sent Bojan to the Washington Wizards and received a much-coveted first round pick in return. Here is how the trade went down:

Brooklyn receives:   Washington receives:
Marcus Thornton, Andrew Nicholson, and 2017 Wizards first round pick   Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough

Brooklyn Nets: B

The Nets managed to get a first-round pick in return for Bogdanovic, so the trade seems like a major victory. Bojan will enter restricted free agency at the end of this season, his third in the NBA, but he will turn 28 before the end of this season and was more than likely not a part of their future plans. This year's squad will certainly miss his scoring touch and incredible range, but this trade was entirely about trading current value for future value through the draft. The pick will likely be in the mid-20's, where the Nets have drafted Caris LeVert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in recent years.

Chris McCullough only played 72 minutes this year after starting some games down the stretch of last season. This trade might have earned a grade in the A-range without throwing McCullough in, but he is still just 22 and showed signs of being a really valuable player last year. Still, his inability to crack the Nets' rotation this year was troubling. Anyone who cannot earn minutes over Anthony Bennett might not be much of a prospect. Giving up McCullough is certainly not a dealbreaker, but it is concerning that Brooklyn gave up on him this quickly.

Andrew Nicholson is an interesting piece who was unable to secure playing time in Washington. He is theoretically a stretch-4 who had a great outside shot in college but has shot just 32.7% from deep in his NBA career. He might thrive with more playing time in Brooklyn but has been a disappointment this season. Marcus Thornton will be waived upon the completion of the trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Washington Wizards: A-

The Wizards desperately needed an additional scorer off the bench, and they got that in Bojan Bogdanovic for a relatively cheap price. The Wizards currently have the eighth best record in the NBA. They would be even higher in the standings if they had not lost eight of their first ten games, and this trade will certainly help them continue to win. Their first-round pick might end up being as late as the 25th or 26th selection, depending on whether they can catch Boston or Cleveland in the Eastern Conference standings.

They also managed to dump Andrew Nicholson, who signed a four-year $26 million contract this offseason and has played 231 minutes for the Wizards. Nicholson might be able to find a role in Brooklyn, but there was no path to minutes for him in Washington where he was basically dead salary. Thornton played some minutes in Washington, but he was remarkably inefficient--his True Shooting percentage this year is 49.4%, which ranks near the bottom of the league among shooting guards.

The Brooklyn Nets needed to acquire future assets, and the Washington Wizards needed a scorer off the bench. Both teams got exactly what they wanted out of this trade. While Chris McCullough may end up being more than a throw-in down the line, this trade makes perfect sense for both teams and helps them move towards their future goals.

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