What impact does the Bojan Bogdanovic trade have on the Atlanta Hawks

For those who thought that the moves of the NBA pre-season were over think again. The Detroit Pistons have continued to help the Utah Jazz complete their fire sale by trading for Bojan Bogdanovic. So let’s take a look at how this is going to impact the Atlanta Hawks.

First, let’s take a look at the mechanics of the trade. The Pistons continued to add established NBA talent to their squad by getting Bogdanovic. This trade cost the Pistons Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee which may be considered a good deal for the Motor City franchise.

While the Pistons took on more salary than they sent out they were able to do this because of trades earlier in the offseason. One of these was sending Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers which also had the impact of creating a spot in the starting lineup that Bogdanovic can fill.

So, how does the Bojan Bogdanovic trade impact the Atlanta Hawks?

Well, firstly this trade helps the Hawks in one small way. Olynyk was the Pistons’ best stretch-five until they moved him on. This meant that the Hawks’ perimeter defense was stretched and we all know how good that was last season. Marvin Bagley is a work in progress from the deep and Nerlens Noel is not a 3-point shooter at all.

This means that the Hawks will be able to keep their structure on offense with Capela being able to patrol the paint. This will hopefully help the Hawks be able to curtail the influence of Cade Cunningham who is now the driving force behind the Pistons’ hoped-for success.

However, Bogdanovic is also one of the best shooters from deep in the league. He has been top-12 in the league twice for 3-point percentage and is ranked 100th All-Time. This is going to help the Pistons create space on the floor for Cunningham and rookie Jaden Ivey.

That is why matchups are so important. Without Olynyk, the Pistons don’t have the ability to draw Capela and Onyeka Okongwu out of the paint as easily. They are also unable to create the mismatches inside against the Hawks’ big men. So what does this trade mean for the Hawks? Well, hopefully, it makes them easier to beat.

With the addition of Dejounte Murray, who is going to have a tremendous impact on this team, as well as Justin Holiday and Maurice Harkless, this team is going to struggle against the Hawks. The perimeter defense is hopefully going to be able to curb Bogdanovic’s influence as well.