Most expected extreme changes to come to the Hawks roster after one of the most mediocre seasons in NBA history ended in a first-round exit to the top-seeded Boston Celtics. However, the roster, for the most part, has remained the same.
The Hawks added a couple of veterans in Wesley Matthews and Patty Mills, giving the team some much-needed depth and experience. They also parted ways with Johns Collins in a trade with the Utah Jazz, but that only netted the team Rudy Gay, who is no longer with the Hawks, and a second-round pick.
In reality, the two most significant moves of the last year haven’t been acquisitions or trades. They’ve been extensions handed out to two key pieces. The Dejounte Murray deal is hands-down the best move the Hawks have made in a long time. After giving up so much to acquire him, it would have been a nightmare to let him walk for nothing next offseason. Instead, they inked him to a four-year, team-friendly extension that could pay him up to $120 million. For a player of his caliber, that’s a bargain.
The other extension was a little more surprising, as the Hawks locked Bogdan Bogdanovic up for another four years in the middle of last season. It will pay him $64 million over the next four years, which is a quality deal for what he offers, but given his injury history — he has missed at least 19 games in each of the last four seasons — I don’t think anybody expected the Hawks to act so swiftly on the matter.
Ahead of the FIBA World Cup, Bogdan Bogdanovic sat down with Antonio Kozlow of Basketball Insiders to discuss what to expect of the Serbian National Team. Bogdanovic is the team captain, and most of the article does not pertain to the Hawks, but he does give one intriguing quote regarding his extension.
“They told me they want to keep me until the end of my career. So, I’m working there. I like the atmosphere and what we’re creating year by year. It’s been up and down, but I feel like we’ll get better,” Bogdanovic said.
Bogi was a key piece to the Hawks magical run to the Eastern Conference Finals, and when healthy, he’s one of the most underrated snipers in the league, but that’s been the problem. He can’t stay on the floor often enough, and even when he is active, he’s generally dealing with a nagging injury. For a player entering his 30s, that’s not an encouraging sign.
Still, that didn’t deter the Hawks from committing to him long term. Under Quin Snyder, it’s clear they’ve placed a high value on Bogdanovic’s shooting and playmaking ability. He’s one of the best 6th men in the league, but he has to stay on the floor, or this could be yet another contract the Hawks end up regretting.
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