Bojan Bogdanovic opts for season-ending surgery and won’t be ready to return until the start of the 2020-21 season. Where does that leave the Utah Jazz?
In the event that the 2019-20 NBA season returns, in some sort of fashion, it’s going to be difficult for the Utah Jazz to make a deep run in the Western Conference playoffs. That’s because Bojan Bogdanovic, the team’s second-leading scorer at 20 points per contest, has opted to have season-ending surgery on his right wrist.
He originally suffered the injury in January, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Bogdanovic won’t be available to play until the 2020-21 season and would be unavailable for the Jazz if – or hopefully when – the 2019-20 playoffs begin (or the season resumes).
Bogdanovic injured wrist in January and played in pain throughout season. The discomfort/injury emerged again during shutdown, sources said. Decision for surgery makes sense to protect him and franchise for long-term. He signed a four-year, $73M deal last summer. https://t.co/OwLTeYHWgO
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 18, 2020
Bogdanovic proved to be a key cog for the Jazz this season and was a bit part of the team’s success. Not having their second-leading scorer will only put more of an emphasis on Donovan Mitchell‘s ability to not only provide the offense in terms of scoring but also create it at a much higher rate.
Entering the hiatus, the Jazz is ranked fourth in the Western Conference and would be looking at a possible first-round playoff matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though they likely would still be favored in the matchup, it would be extremely surprising if the Jazz managed to do much more than just winning a first-round matchup.
In the end, this is probably the best course of action for Bogdanovic. After signing a four-year contract during the summer, it’s his responsibility to think about his long-term prospects with the team instead of possibly (?) playing through the pain and delay a surgery that he will need either way for a postseason that may or may not happen.
As far as Bogdanovic’s impact on the court, his positive influence on the team shouldn’t be overlooked.
Mitchell ON, Bogdanovic ON: 114.0 ORtg, +5.5 Net Rating
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) May 18, 2020
Mitchell ON, Bogdanovic OFF: 103.6 ORtg, -5.3 Net Rating
Bogdanovic ON, Mitchell OFF: 106.6 ORtg, +6.1 Net Rating
Gobert & Mitchell ON, Bogdanovic OFF: 98.8 ORtg, -7.9 Net Rating
If the season does resume, there’s no question that the Jazz will miss him. And the advanced stats back that up, especially when he’s playing alongside Mitchell and Gobert.
The Utah Jazz will have a rough road ahead if the season resumes. Though, I’m sure this is a trade-off that they’ll live with. Right now, with the way everything is halted, Bojan Bogdanovic and the Jazz should be thinking about 2020-21.