Bogdan Bogdanovic signs 4-year deal with Fenerbahce

Phoenix Suns draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic likely won’t be NBA-bound for two more seasons after agreeing to a four-year contract with Turkish club Fenerbahce Ulker, according to a report from European journalist Ismail Senol. Bogdanovic’s contract is broken into two years without an out and appears to have options on the third and fourth seasons, meaning Bogdanovic could join the Suns without cost beginning in the summer of 2016.

On draft night, Suns general manager Ryan McDonough predicted Bogdanovic would not come to Phoenix for one or two seasons.

Bogdanovic was originally pegged to return to Partizan Belgrade, but that squad will be paid $1 million to send the 6’6 guard to Turkey, according to Sportando.

As Paul Coro notes, Phoenix could still buy out Bogdanovic, who was picked 27th in the 2014 NBA Draft.

The collective bargaining agreement only allows NBA teams to pay for $600,000 of a buy-out during the 2014-15 season and $625,000 in 2015-16 without counting against the cap. Any larger amount would have to come out of a player’s salary, such as it did for Goran Dragic in 2006, when the Suns bought him out of a deal with Tau Ceramica (though that was a bit more complicated for legal reasons).

It appears unlikely the Suns would look at a buyout for Bogdanovic, unless this offseason and next go poorly for them in terms of retaining the current backcourt of Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. If Bogdanovic joins Phoenix prior to the 2016-17 season, he will have just turned 24 years old.