The Atlanta Hawks and wing Bogdan Bogdanovic reportedly have agreed to a four-year extension worth $68 million.
Atlanta Hawks F Bogdan Bogdanovic has agreed on a four-year, $68 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 16, 2023
Bogdanovic, who has been with Atlanta since the 2020-21 season, would have been able to become a free agent this coming offseason, as he had a player option for the 2023-24 season on his original deal.
The new deal will instead kick in next season for Bogdanovic and the Hawks.
Bogdanovic declines the $18M player option on his 2023-2024 contract and his new deal kicks in next season, sources tell ESPN. Bogdanovic, 30, is averaging 14 points on 40 percent three-point shooting for the Hawks this season. https://t.co/wodWFNNswB
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 16, 2023
This is a big move for Atlanta, as it locks up one of the team’s best shooters for the long term alongside Trae Young and Dejounte Murray.
Bogdanovic has been slowed by injuries in the 2022-23 season, appearing in just 43 games, but the 30-year-old wing has still been lights out shooting the basketball. On the season, Bogdanovic is shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from beyond the arc while averaging 14.1 points per game.
After trading away Kevin Huerter to the Sacramento Kings this past offseason, the Hawks needed to keep a player like Bogdanovic around to space the floor on offense. Now, the team won’t have to worry about another team poaching him in free agency.
This extension is actually for less money than Bogdanovic’s first deal with the team. Prior to the 2020-21 season, the veteran wing signed a four-year deal worth $72 million (the last season being a player option).
This should help the Hawks fill out the rest of their roster around Young, Murray Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter. Atlanta has a solid young core, but it hasn’t been able to find the same success it had in the 2020-21 season when it made the Eastern Conference Finals.
This season, the Hawks are the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and sit three games behind the Miami Heat.
The team could still make noise in the playoffs, but it will need to play much better than it has so far this season. In the 43 games that Bogdanovic has played, the Hawks have gone 21-22.
With one of the better potential free agents this coming offseason locked up, it will be interesting to see how Bogdanovic’s deal sets the standard for the rest of the shooters in this free agent market this summer.
