Bogdan Bogdanovic had something of an interesting offseason. Heading into restricted free agency, the 28-year-old was widely assumed to be one of the hottest potential sign-and-trade contenders on the market.
Surely enough, just as free agency was set to commence, word emerged that the Kings had agreed to a sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks centering around Bogdanovic. For a cool minute, it seemed like Giannis Antetokounmpo was on the verge of getting a sharpshooting teammate that would perfectly compliment his game.
Then the wheels fell off.
As it turns out, while the Kings and Bucks were having their negotiations, Bogdanovic was apparently kept out of the loop on the details. When the deal was actually reached, he hadn’t agreed to anything.
The entire thing was very sordid, with another team actually snitching on all parties involved in the process.
In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Bogdanovic revealed just how stunned he was by that whole sequence of events.
“When the news [of the deal] came out, we were like, ‘What the f**k?’” Bogdanovic said.
“I didn’t know what was going on. I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure what was going on.”
For Bogdanovic, there was a real element of duplicity involved.
Paulina Gretzky knows what she’s doing.https://t.co/zfKrfjY8iP
— Game 7 (@game7__) January 3, 2021
“It’s not the part that you were traded,” he continued. “But it’s more like you feel a little be-traded. No one let you know about it.”
Ultimately, the Bucks-Kings trade fell apart. From there Bogdanovic was offered a four-year, $72 million contract from the Atlanta Hawks which Sacramento had the opportunity to match. However, with recent big money extensions for guards De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield already on the books, the Kings declined.
Thus, Bogdanovic became a member of the Hawks. So far this season he is averaging 11.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. Thanks in no small part to his contributions Atlanta is 4-3 on the year and appears to be in great position to secure a playoff spot.
How would Bogdanovic have fared alongside Antetokounmpo? That will go down as one of the NBA’s great mysteries.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
