Warriors Trade Rumors: GSW Eye Hawks' Bogdan Bogdanovic Entering NBA Deadline
March 22, 2021
The Golden State Warriors have reportedly "shown interest" in Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic ahead of Thursday's 2021 NBA trade deadline.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the update on Bogdanovic, who's in the first season of a four-year, $72 million contract with the Hawks.
Bogdanovic hasn't made the impact Atlanta expected when it signed him to the long-term deal.
The 28-year-old is averaging career lows in points (9.5), assists (2.3), shooting percentage (38.7), three-point shooting percentage (33.0) and minutes (23.1) across 17 appearances. In his fourth season, the Serb has missed nearly two months of action while recovering from a knee injury.
Atlanta made a major splash in free agency when they signed Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari to contracts worth a combined $133.4 million, but those marquee additions now rank eighth and fifth on the team in scoring, respectively.
In January, Bogdanovic told Sam Amick of The Athletic he was "fine" with coming off the bench, a role that's remained the same despite a coaching change from Lloyd Pierce to Nate McMillan earlier this month.
"I feel fine about it. I think Coach [Pierce] is putting me in situations to kind of run the second unit, you know? And be like the sixth man of the unit," he said. "And when you play with Trae [Young], it's so easy. He always draws so much attention on him, and that's what gives me a lot of open shots. Not just me, but everyone else."
He'd enter a similar situation if traded to Golden State, which already features Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. as its starters on the wing unless one of them is also dealt in the coming days.
The 6'6" guard averaged 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.7 threes while shooting 37.2 percent from beyond the arc in 61 games for the Sacramento Kings last season.
He still ranks ninth among shooting guards in ESPN's real plus-minus this season despite the small role in Atlanta thanks to his two-way impact, so he could be an attractive under-the-radar target, though his contract could create a hurdle.
That said, the Hawks rank fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 22-20 record and probably wouldn't move him without getting a player in return who could contribute to their rotation immediately.