Evaluating Vít Krejčí’s signing for the Atlanta Hawks

When the Hawks signed Krejci, 24, to a two-way contract, they certainly didn’t expect him to have the impact he did in the 2023-24 season.

Today, they recognized that impact by securing him a long-term extension. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hawks signed Krejci to a four-year, $10 million deal.

In 22 games for Atlanta, Krejci averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Those numbers aren’t obvious, but he did them on the strength of a 63 percent shooting percentage and 41 percent three-point shooting percentage on three attempts per night. The Hawks may have found a serious bench shooter in Krejci, making his new four-year, $7 million deal a steal.

While he’s not a top-tier defender, he has the size and agility to disrupt wings. For example, he took over for Tatum in their two wins over the Celtics and did relatively well. It’s not hard to imagine Krejci taking over offensively and defensively with more minutes and earning a spot in what appears to be a crowded forward rotation for the Hawks. With Saddiq Bey still out of contract in free agency and AJ Griffin traded to the Houston Rockets after a rough sophomore season, Krejci could become the team’s eighth or ninth man next year. At $2.5 million per year, it’s worth it for general manager Landry Fields to figure out exactly what Krejci can become.

Two-way players rarely become impact players, but keeping players who outperform those contracts is a good deal. The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder are good examples of players who find rotational pieces for playoff teams on two-way contracts. It remains to be seen whether Krejci can have an impact comparable to that of Lu Dort, Max Strus or Caleb Martin. However, with limited draft capital, the Hawks must capitalize on minor successes to pave the way for future success.

I think this deal was a no-brainer for the Hawks. It gives them a cheap winger with growth potential to be a part of the rotation or a piece to use in a future trade. Krejci was one of the best pieces last season for Atlanta and it will be interesting to see if he gets a bigger workload next season.

Final grade: A