The Atlanta Hawks extended guard Bogdan Bogdanovic on a four-year deal worth $68 million.
Despite having been put on the trading block only a few weeks ago, the Atlanta Hawks have decided to stick it out with Bogdan Bogdanovic for the foreseeable future.
In the heart of March Madness, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped a bombshell of a tweet about the Hawks extending Bogdanovic. It will be a four-year deal worth $68 million. While Bogdanovic has been a great fit in Atlanta since coming over three years ago, he is 30 years old and has dealt with injuries. When healthy, he is an excellent sixth man/combo guard, but this deal is very risky.
Let’s discuss if this was a smart move by the Hawks or if they have completely lost their minds.
Atlanta Hawks extend Bogdan Bogdanovic on a four-year, $68 million deal
This move is all about retaining a foundational piece of this team’s current core. Even with Quin Snyder taking over for Nate McMillan midseason, the Hawks seem to have their ducks in order to ride this thing out for the rest of their competitive life cycle. They are still probably going to be a playoff or play-in team this season, but it is all about next year with Snyder and this Hawks group.
Admittedly, that is a big number for a player who could regress over the lifetime of the contract. However, the Hawks can theoretically get out of the deal at some point next season, should Atlanta find a trade partner for Bogdanovic. Then again, it is not the first two years of the contract we should be concerned about, it is the last two. This is why the move the Hawks made is so risky.
The good news is Bogdanovic seems to jive with Snyder already. I mean, why would he not? Snyder is a former guard himself and has a proven track record as a head coach. So when it comes to the Atlanta backcourt, it is hard to top Trae Young at the point, Dejounte Murray at the two and Bogdanovic rounding out the trio. On paper, this works, but games are not won and lost on paper…
From a fan’s perspective, I love Bogdanovic. He plays his tail off and does the necessary little things to win games. He is an easy guy to root for and I have been thoroughly impressed with how well he has fit in with Atlanta since coming over to the Hawks from Sacramento in his free agency. However, I would be lying to you if I did not say I was apprehensive about the length of the deal.
While I do think Bogdanovic’s game will age gracefully, it would be such a shame if his knees went kaput midway through his second year of the contract extension. Although salaries are still probably going to go up over the life of this deal because inflation is and always will be all the rage, I am nervous that the contract could prove to be an albatross if the Snyder era does not end well.
Ultimately, as long as the Hawks are unified in their decision-making processes from ownership on down, then I can live with the deal. I really want this to work out because Bogdanovic is the exact type of player I would love to have on my basketball team. We just need to hope that he can stay healthy and the Hawks can continue to play competitive basketball over the next several seasons.
Only time will tell if the Hawks got a bargain for Bogdanovic or made a GOB Bluth huge mistake.
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Author: John Buhler
