NBA report: Wizards acquire swingman Bogan Bogdanovic from the Nets

The Washington Wizards added scoring punch to their bench Wednesday, acquiring swingman Bojan Bogdanovic in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

Washington will also get forward Chris McCullough in the deal and send a lottery-protected 2017 first-round pick, Marcus Thornton and Andrew Nicholson to Brooklyn, it was announced by the team.

Bogdanovic, 27, is averaging a career-high 14.2 points a game as a starter for the struggling Nets. He will add depth to the Wizards, who are in third place in the Eastern Conference.

“Bojan is a very good shooter and a talented overall scorer whose versatility gives us an added dimension as we gear up for the stretch run,” General Manager Ernie Grunfeld said in a statement. “He is a proven starter that will provide us an added boost off the bench and allow us to be creative with our lineups.”

With the addition of Bogdanovic, a pending restricted free agent, Washington continues its push to challenge the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors in the East. The Wizards have won nine of their past 10 games and surged up the standings after a slow start under new coach Scott Brooks.

It’s the second consecutive season the Wizards traded their first-round pick at the deadline after acquiring power forward Markieff Morris from the Phoenix Suns in 2016. Morris is a starter along with All-Star John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and Marcin Gortat, while Bogdanovic is expected to be their sixth man.

Bogdanovic is shooting 44% this season, including 37% from three-point range. The 2011 second-round pick led the Nets with 99 three-pointers and was second on the team in scoring.

The 6-foot-8 Bogdanovic was the leading scorer in the Olympics, averaging 25.3 points to lead Croatia to a surprising berth in the quarterfinals as the top seed from its group.

Cavaliers consider adding Sanders to roster

As trade rumors swirled before Thursday’s deadline, the Cleveland Cavaliers took a more practical approach to improving their roster.

With an open roster spot and needing frontcourt help, the Cavaliers met with Larry Sanders, the free-agent forward who stepped away from the game following the 2014-15 season.

The 6-foot-11 Sanders took a physical and met with Cavs Coach Tyronn Lue and other team officials. Following the NBA champions’ first practice after the All-Star break — LeBron James was given the day off — Lue said he enjoyed his time with Sanders.

With All-Star forward Kevin Love recovering from knee surgery, The Cavaliers could use another frontline player and Sanders would be a nice fit. The team also signed forward Derrick Williams to a second 10-day contract.

“It was good,” Lue said of meeting Sanders. “He’s a good dude. I know he has some negative things said about him, but just meeting him for the first time, just talking to him one on one, I mean, he’s a great guy. You never know, you never understand until you’re around that person and you’re able to talk to that person. With me, everybody I meet always has a clean slate.”

The 28-year-old Sanders, who was the No. 15 overall pick in 2010, averaged 7.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 27 games for Milwaukee in 2014-15 before the Bucks bought out his contract. Sanders announced his comeback last month.

Etc.

The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to trade center Tiago Splitter to the Philadelphia 76ers for forward Ersan Ilyasova, according to multiple reports. The Hawks also will send Philadelphia a second-round draft pick, and the 76ers have the right for an additional swap of second-round picks. Ilyasova has averaged 14.8 points while starting in 40 of 53 games this season. The native of Turkey also has played for Milwaukee, Detroit, Orlando and Oklahoma City. Splitter, a center earning $8.5 million, has not played this season because of hip and calf injuries. He will become a free agent after the season. …

The Charlotte Hornets will be without backup center Miles Plumlee for at least two weeks after an MRI revealed a second degree calf strain in his right leg. Plumlee is the latest Hornets center to struggle with injury issues. Starter Cody Zeller missed time before the All-Star break with a strained quadriceps. The 6-foot-11 Plumlee was acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on Feb. 2. … The Phoenix Suns have again assigned forward Derrick Jones Jr. to Northern Arizona, its affiliate in the NBA Development League. Jones was the runner-up to Glenn Robinson III in the NBA Slam Dunk competition over the weekend. This is Jones’ seventh assignment of the season.