The Atlanta Hawks declared Tuesday night that they have signed limited free-agent guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
The declaration came after the Sacramento Kings declined to match the Hawks’ four-year, $72 million offer sheet for Bogdanovic.
The Kings’ front office had worked over the decision the previous two days yet continued returning to new general manager Monte McNair’s plan to keep up roster adaptability. Keeping Bogdanovic would have seriously restricted the association’s ability to keep reshaping the group around its young core of De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III and Buddy Hield.
Furthermore, when Tyrese Haliburton dropped to the Kings at No. 12 in last Wednesday’s NBA draft, Sacramento unexpectedly had a more talented backcourt than it initially anticipated heading into free office – another factor in Tuesday night’s decision.
The Kings had 48 hours, until midnight ET on Tuesday, to make a decision on coordinating the offer sheet and keeping Bogdanovic or letting him leave for the Hawks.
Bogdanovic took to Twitter later Tuesday to thank the Kings “for welcoming me with so much love to start my NBA career.”
“Thank you for allowing me to be myself and giving me the opportunity to follow my dreams!!!” he wrote in his tweet. “Thank you to the fans and the city for welcoming me, and supporting me the whole time!!
“I’m going to miss all my friends, teammates and one of the best fan bases in NBA!!!”
For Atlanta general manager Travis Schlenk, it was a shrewd bet to overpay market value on Bogdanovic. That is traditionally how teams procure major parts in a limited free agency. Presently, Bogdanovic joins Danilo Gallinari as centerpieces of a Hawks free-agency class that has reshaped the roster around youthful All-Star guard Trae Young.
The Hawks have been aggressive in using salary-cap space to get set up veterans to supplement a youthful core, signing Gallinari (three years, $61.5 million), guard Rajon Rondo (two years, $15 million), guard Kris Dunn (one year, $5 million) and forward Solomon Hill (one year).
“It’s no secret that one of our biggest areas of focus in free agency was adding shooting and quality depth,” Schlenk said. “With Bogdan as part of our incoming group, we feel those are now areas of strength.”
Bogdanovic, 28, is the subject of a league probe into whether altering may have happened in talks between Sacramento and Milwaukee about a sign-and-trade agreement before the opening Friday of the free-agency period, sources said.
