New Night Trade Proposal Sees Bogdan Bogdanovic Land in Dallas, Tim Hardaway Jr + Picks in Atlanta

The 2024 NBA Draft is less than a week away.

This draft is going to be fascinating, especially because no one knows yet what the Atlanta Hawks want to do. There is a lot of speculation about who the Hawks will select with the No. 1 pick, but there could also be a lot of movement in terms of trades next week. Starting with Atlanta at No. 1 and Houston at No. 3, several teams could attempt to make deals in the draft.

Although the No. 1 pick is the only pick the Hawks have on draft night this year, could they strike a deal to land a second-rounder in this draft and a future first-line protector? Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale proposed a nighttime trade that would do just that for the Hawks at the expense of one of their best players:

The Dallas Mavericks receive: Bogdan Bogdanovic

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Olivier Maxence-Prosper, pick No. 58, 2025 first-round pick (top-eight protection; turns into two second-rounders if not conveyed)

“Reaching the NBA Finals is to some extent proof of concept for Dallas. This is not a license to sit back and relax. The Boston Celtics are now their standard, and the Western Conference will become more hellish , health permitting, next season.

Two voids stand out when examining the Mavericks’ roster and Finals performance: two-way wings and a third offensive player who can not only make shots consistently, but also regularly rotate opposing defenses.

Bogdanović ticks that last box. He’s just making 36.6 percent of his pull-up triples and shooting 52.1 percent on drives while solidifying his value as a secondary ball thrower and reliable sharpshooter. His shots can go through gaps, especially when he’s operating off the dribble, but he’s someone defenses overreact to. The same can’t be said for Dallas’ other non-stars.

Using Hardaway’s salary to get Bogdanović puts the Mavs at risk of losing Derrick Jones Jr. They have to use an exception to re-sign him, and this deal doesn’t lose enough salary to guarantee they’ll have access to the non-taxpayer . MLE. But Dallas can try to make up the difference by moving Maxi Kleber or Dwight Powell ($4 million player option).

Whether Atlanta should consider expiring salary, O-Max and a first-round pick as enough compensation is debatable. This 2025 premiere is valuable when the Hawks are not guaranteed to get the Sacramento Kings selection (top 12 protection) and when theirs are headed to San Antonio.

Atlanta’s feelings about this deal could also change if it views winning the No. 1 pick as a way to reorient its schedule around Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and whoever they draft. Regardless, the Mavs have other permutations they can come up with. Including Jaden Hardy or even Josh Green in different versions shouldn’t scare them away from the negotiating table. »

This is not a trade that I find favorable to the Hawks. Bogdanovic was one of their best players last year and the only valuable asset the Hawks are getting back is a protected top-eight pick from Dallas, which is likely to pass on him. Hardaway Jr was unplayable in the playoffs for the Mavericks and he’s not as good as Bogdanovic. Getting a second rounder in this year’s draft might turn out to be okay, but late second round picks rarely prove useful.

Bogdanovic averaged 16.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 3.1 APG while shooting 37% from three and 43% from the field. He set the Hawks’ single-season franchise record for three-pointers in a single season. According to Cleaning the Glass, Bogdanovic had a positive point differential of +11.9 when he was on the floor, the highest mark for any Hawks. He should have been a finalist for 6th Man of the Year and not only that, he should have won it. Bogdanovic also set the single-season record for three-pointers made in a season.

I don’t think it’s crazy if the Hawks trade Bogdanovic, but they need better assets in return than that. There should be no shortage of suitors for Bogdanovic if the Hawks decide to trade him, but Atlanta should seek better compensation for its team and its new No. 1 pick.