The Kings will have to make a decision on Bogdan Bogdanovic‘s offer sheet with the Hawks on Tuesday, and as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, there are pros and cons the team must consider as it weighs its options.
Matching Bogdanovic’s four-year, $72MM offer sheet would mean not losing him for nothing, and the contract doesn’t look particularly onerous — it’s unlikely that it will become an albatross within the next year. Bogdanovic would have veto power on any trade for the next year if Sacramento matches his offer, and the deal includes a 15% trade kicker, but there’s a good chance the club could eventually move him for positive value.
Still, while the Kings had originally budgeted for a $15-18MM annual salary for Bogdanovic under former GM Vlade Divac, per Anderson, the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the salary cap coming in $6MM lower than anticipated may make the team nervous about a long-term deal at the upper end of that range.
Additionally, sources have suggested to Anderson that Bogdanovic would prefer a change of scenery and that the swingman feels he has been “de-prioritized” by the Kings. Sacramento already may have to deal with one disgruntled wing in Buddy Hield — carrying two of them, and having them eat into each other’s minutes, may not be an ideal situation for the club.
Here are a few more notes and rumors related to free agency:
- The Timberwolves and restricted free agent guard Jordan McLaughlin are engaged in ongoing talks about a new contract, a source tells Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. McLaughlin was on a two-way deal last season as a rookie, but is due for a promotion to a standard contract after averaging 7.6 PPG and 4.2 APG on .489/.382/.667 shooting in 30 games (19.7 MPG).
- Before he committed to the Raptors, free agent center Aron Baynes gave serious consideration to joining the Warriors, a league source tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
- Alex Len, another center who agreed to a deal with Toronto, generated interest from the Lakers, Sixers, Bucks, and Kings during free agency, according to Scotto. The Raptors used their mid-level exception to give Len slightly more than his minimum salary.
- The Hawks and Pistons were among the teams that expressed interest in Damyean Dotson before the free agent guard committed to Cleveland, reports Scotto. Dotson’s two-year, $4MM deal with the Cavaliers is worth more than the minimum and the club is still weighing whether to use its mid-level exception or bi-annual exception to complete the signing, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
