Atlanta Hawks make major decision on Bogdan Bogdanovic’s future: Report

The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to terms on a four-year, $68 million extension with veteran swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic, per ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

Bogdanovic, 30, had an $18 million player option for next season but declined it to facilitate the deal. A player can only be extended if they are “an expiring contract or with an option”, according to ESPN front office insider and Bobby Marks.

The 6-foot-6 guard is averaging 14.1 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.9 rebounds this season. He is fourth on the team in scoring and shooting over 40% from beyond the arc. Atlanta is 12-14 with him in the lineup and 13-16 without him – not much of a variance in a season that has been uneven on the whole.

There is an element of surprise with this contract – the Hawks season has given the sense that both sides could look to explore their options this coming offseason.

Even if it meant finding Bogdanovic a new home via trade.

“Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to enter free agency this summer,” reported Micahel Scotto on ‘The HoopsHype Podcast’ on March 3. “To do so, he’ll have to decline his $18 million player option. This is a guy that’s one of the more notable shooters on the team. He’s had some injuries he’s had to deal with and has come up in trade rumors as well.”

A well-respected and liked member of the Hawks’ locker room, Bogdanovic could very well be in his final NBA stop.

He turns 31 in August and has dealt with knee injuries in each of his three seasons in Atlanta requiring two surgeries. The most recent procedure kept him out of the first 22 games of this season.

Reactions to Bogdan Bogdanovic signing extension with Atlanta Hawks mixed

Opinions on this decision – which gives the Hawks a projected luxury tax bill in excess of $8 million next season, per Spotrac – have been mixed.

There has been the expected elation for Bogdanovic (or, at least from his perspective)

While others are much more skeptical that a team one game below .500 at 34-35 and sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference should be making this kind of investment.

Especially in a player with Bogdanovic’s injury history.

One thing to note about the deal as pointed out by Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks: doing the deal now does allow for the option to trade Bogdanovic in the offseason. He also expects the deal to be declining in dollar value.

Unfortunately for general manager Landry Fields and Co., he cannot be moved for six more months which would take things right up to training camp.

That could very well be too late to get anything done before next year’s deadline.

At any rate, the Hawks get a contributor – he has the fifth-best net rating of any Hawks player who began the season with the team, per Cleaning The Glass – and kick the can down the road on having to make a decision on a player who is rather prolific within the practice facility.