For the first time in eight months, Bojan Bogdanović has returned to basketball activities, the New York Post reported, citing a source from the club. The 35-year-old Croatian veteran with 10 years of NBA experience has yet to play in his 11th season, but this news indicates that his return is getting closer.

However, the New York Post warns that it remains to be seen how his body will respond to basketball activities before he is cleared to practice with the rest of the team. Even if he has fully healed, it will take time to regain his fitness for games and only then will he seek to find his competitive rhythm. Therefore, his return is still not imminent.

Two Surgeries

Bogdanović last played in the previous season’s playoffs as a member of the New York Knicks, where he injured his left foot during the series against Philadelphia. Prior to that, he had been dealing with a long-standing issue with the joint of his right shooting hand. After the end of the previous season, he underwent surgeries to address both problems.

Meanwhile, the Knicks, who acquired him from Detroit in a trade for Mikal Bridges last February, sent him to the neighboring Brooklyn Nets, a team where Bogdanović started his NBA career in 2014. The Nets did not try to rush Bogdanović's recovery as they are in a "rebuilding" phase, focusing on young players. With a 14-29 record, they are 12th in the Eastern Conference, but after trading away starters Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith, they are expected to fall further in the standings, which would strengthen their chances for the first pick in the draft.

Trade Deadline Approaching

Since the trade to the Nets last summer, it has been clear that Bogdanović has no future with the team and that Brooklyn will try to trade him to a more ambitious team in exchange for future draft picks. However, the trade deadline is fast approaching, on February 6th, and it is uncertain whether the long-time Croatian captain will return to the court by then. His $19 million contract expires at the end of the season.

In his first 10 seasons, Bogdanović averaged 15.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, with 39.4% shooting from three-point range. During his season and a half in Detroit, as well as one season with the Utah Jazz, he averaged over 20 points, but in the Knicks, he had a smaller role off the bench, averaging only 10.5 points, the lowest since his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets.