Report: Lakers could have interest in Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic

Published by

Peter Dewey

February 3, 2023 4:23 pm

The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly could have interest in Atlanta Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

“The team could also have interest in Atlanta guard Bogdan Bogdanovic as they try to add shooting,” the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike and Broderick Turner wrote.

The Lakers already made a move to add to their roster by acquiring forward Rui Hachimura from the Washington Wizards, but they don’t seem to be done yet in the trade market.

Los Angeles is in striking distance of a playoff spot in the West, sitting just three games out of the No. 4 seed. The team appears to know it can make a run to get into the playoffs, as star Anthony Davis said the team is focused on getting a playoff spot and not a play-in spot this season.

Bogdanovic would be a solid addition for the Lakers, who could certainly use some more shooting around Davis and LeBron James.

A first-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, Bogdanovic is averaging 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc.

For his career, the Hawks wing shoots 38.3 percent from 3-point range on 6.2 attempts from deep per game.

Atlanta may be willing to deal Bogdanovic because of his contract situation. Bogdanovic has a player option for the 2023-24 season and would be an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason if he decides to opt out.

The Hawks are currently the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they have fallen short of expectations so far after acquiring guard Dejounte Murray in a trade during the offseason.

Moving Bogdanovic would allow the Hawks to recoup something in return rather than risk the possibility of him leaving for nothing in free agency.

There seems to be several options for the Lakers at the trade deadline, but the team may need to be willing to part ways with one of its first-round picks in either the 2027 or 2029 draft.

If not, it may make things much harder on Los Angeles to land a quality role player in the trade market.

The Lakers seem to think they can contend this season, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team make a move by Feb. 9.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.