Atlanta Hawks ‘remain confident’ they will sign Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic
Kings general manager Monte McNair might have a very difficult decision to make over the next couple of days.
The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner reported Saturday “sources remain confident” the Atlanta Hawks are in a strong position to sign Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic to an offer sheet worth about $72 million over four years. The Kings would have 48 hours to match the offer for the restricted free agent or they would lose him to the Hawks without compensation. Sacramento and Atlanta could choose to work out a sign-and-trade agreement instead, but that will no longer be an option if the 28-year-old shooting guard signs the offer sheet.
Bogdanovic averaged a career-high 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 61 games for the Kings last season. He shot 44% from the field and 37.2% from 3-point range.
Bogdanovic turned down a four-year, $51.4 million extension prior to the 2019-20 season, choosing instead to test the market as a restricted free agent. Under rules of the collective bargaining agreement, a restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player’s original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer.
The terms of that deal, which must be for a minimum of two seasons, are provided to the player’s original team, which has two days to match the offer. If the team matches the offer, the player remains under contract with his original team under the principal terms of the offer sheet. If the team declines to match the offer, the player is under contract with the new team.
The Kings reportedly agreed to a sign-and-trade deal Monday that would have sent Bogdanovic and Justin James to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson, but that deal collapsed over the course of the week. A source told The Sacramento Bee “there is no deal” when the trade was first reported Monday and reiterated “there was never a deal” as the trade unraveled Wednesday, noting Bogdanovic could not be offered a new contract until free agency began Friday. The NBA is now investigating whether that failed deal violated the league’s tampering rules.
The Kings extended a $10.7 million qualifying offer to Bogdanovic on Thursday, ensuring they would have the right of first refusal as he entered restricted free agency. McNair might choose to match an offer from Atlanta, but Sacramento’s roster is getting expensive.
The Kings already have nearly $97 million allocated for the 2020-21 season with only nine players under contract. Buddy Hield will earn $24.4 million in the first year of his new deal, Harrison Barnes will earn $22.2 million and backup point guard Cory Joseph is owed $12.6 million.
Signing Bogdanovic for an estimated $18 million would push the team’s payroll to $115, well over the $109.1 million salary cap, and that doesn’t account for rookie Tyrese Haliburton. The Kings can exceed the salary cap to sign Bogdanovic because they hold his Bird Rights, but that’s a hefty price to pay for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 14 years, the longest active postseason drought in the NBA.
The Kings on Friday signed De’Aaron Fox to a maximum five-year, $163 million extension that could be worth up to the $195.6 super max with incentives. He will reportedly earn $28.1 million in the first year of that deal in 2021-22. The Kings will owe Fox, Hield, Barnes, Joseph, Marvin Bagley III and Justin James a total of $96.5 million. With Bogdanovic that figure would increase to about $114.5 million. The salary cap will be between $112.4 million and $120 million, depending on league revenue.
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 3:47 PM.
