Atlanta Hawks extend Bogdan Bogdanovic’s contract for four years, despite trade rumors
Though he was mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the February 9 deadline, the Atlanta Hawks have decided to keep Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The Hawks and the 30-year-old guard have reportedly agreed to a four-year, $68 million contract extension, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Bogdan Bogdanovic joined the Hawks in November 2020 on a four-year deal worth $72 million. The contract’s duration included a player option for the 2023–24 season.
Bogdanovi reportedly turned down his player option, so the new deal will kick in for the 2019 season, as reported by Wojnarowski.
It’s the first big change to the Hawks’ roster since Quin Snyder did take over as head coach on February 26. At the end of February 21, with a 29-30 record for the year, Nate McMillan was let go as head coach.
Despite making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2020-21, the Hawks have since regressed. Last year, they advanced to the postseason as the No. 8 seed but were eliminated in five games by the eventual champion Miami Heat.
With a 34-35 record, Atlanta sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Before the coaching change, there were rumors that McMillan and Trae Young had been at odds with one another.
During a shootaround on December 4, Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that McMillan and Young had an “exchange” that led to Young missing Atlanta’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
The sources told Charania and Amick that while Young was getting treatment for his right shoulder, McMillan asked him if he would take part in shootaround, get treatment during walk-through, and play in the game against the Nuggets. While he missed the shootaround and made a decision about whether or not to play later in the day, “It was made abundantly clear by Young that he wished to ignore everything else in favor of his medical care.”
After the fact, both men played down the significance of the incident, but on December 30, Charania reported that McMillan “strongly considered resigning” as head coach in the wake of the team’s poor showing.
During his time with the Hawks, Bogdan Bogdanovic has had trouble with injuries. In 2020–21, he suffered an avulsion fracture of his right knee and was sidelined for 28 games.
The Serb set a career-high in scoring with 16.4 points per game in 2020-21 while also making 43.8 percent of his three-point attempts in 44 games.
Last year, Bogdan Bogdanovic missed 19 games due to injury. The average number of points he scored per game dropped to 15.1, and his three-point shooting percentage dropped to 36.8 on 7.3 attempts per game.
Bogdan Bogdanovic has been an important reserve for the Hawks after missing the first 22 games of the season to recover from knee surgery. In 43 games played, he has a 14.1% three-point clip and a 14.1 ppg average.
To become an elite Eastern Conference contender, Hawks general manager Landry Fields and head coach Stephen Curry must fortify their roster around its core players, led by Snyder.
After signing Bogdan Bogdanovic, Young, and John Collins to new contracts, the team is set for the foreseeable future. Dejounte Murray, whose current deal expires next year, could be the next major piece of business.
Final Thoughts
The Atlanta Hawks have decided to retain Bogdan Bogdanovic and have reportedly agreed to a four-year, $68 million contract extension. NBA Updates: Bogdanovic has had some injury troubles during his time with the Hawks, but he has been an important reserve for the team. The signing of Bogdanovic, along with Trae Young and John Collins, gives the Hawks a solid core of players for the foreseeable future.
To become a contender in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks must continue to fortify their roster around this core. The team will likely regain their form with the new coaching change and make another deep playoff run.