Atlanta Hawks swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic recently encountered a wild string of events in the first free-agency proceedings of his career in the league. He was initially set to head to the Milwaukee Bucks but the sign-and-trade deal eventually fell apart which brought the 28-year-old back to his original team in the Sacramento Kings.
The Atlanta Hawks went on to offer the Serbian national a four-year, $72 million contract. As a restricted free agent, the Kings had the opportunity to match the offer sheet to keep him at the helm but they opted to not do so which ultimately sent the swingman to the Hawks camp.
Bogdanovic recently spoke regarding his preference to stay with the Kings or head to Atlanta instead, via The Athletic‘s Chris Kirschner.
I asked Bogdan Bogdanovic if it was his preference that Sacramento not match his offer sheet. He said: "Since SAC didnt do any moves in the offseason, I was like, OK, I'm ready to leave. I was excited about Atlanta."
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) December 2, 2020
The Kings had a quiet offseason where they only added free agent Hassan Whiteside from the Portland Trail Blazers and selected Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton with the 12th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
On the other hand, the Hawks have reloaded their weapons and made themselves a much-improved team compared to last year in a bid to return to the postseason. The Atlanta-based squad drafted USC's Onyeka Okongwu with the sixth overall pick and acquired notable veterans in Rajon Rondo from the Los Angeles Lakers, Danilo Gallinari from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kris Dunn from the Chicago Bulls, and Solomon Hill from the Miami Heat.
The Hawks are fresh off another dismal campaign where they concluded with a 20-47 record to finish with the 14th spot in the Eastern Conference. With their new acquisitions, the team is looking to finally overcome the hump after a string of disappointing seasons.
Bogdan Bogdanovic's contribution especially on the offensive end with his scoring and playmaking abilities will truly come in handy for the team's playoff aspirations moving forward.