Could be the end of the road for the revered vets.
We may be in store for a busy trade deadline.
The Hawks currently sit at 22-26 — still in the mix for the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament — but will have to forge on without Jalen Johnson for the remainder of the season. As a reminder, their own first-round pick is out the door, but they do have the Lakers’ unprotected first-round pick and possibly Sacramento’s as well this season.
Clint Capela and Bogdan Bogdanovic have been important members to the team since the 2020-21 season, but recently the pair has been held out of competition for health and ‘away from team’ reasons per the organization. All that has led to speculation that one or both may be moved prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.
Marc Stein posted on his Substack blog on Thursday, 1/30/25, 9:30 AM about Bogdan Bogdanovic’s possible availability:
It has been known for some time that Atlanta is willing to trade veteran center Clint Capela, but league sources say that the Hawks have begun actively exploring the trade market for their own perimeter specialist: Bogdan Bogdanović.
Bogdanović has not shot the ball anywhere close to his usual standards this season at 37.1% from the field and 30.1% from deep. Yet he still has fans around the league and has to be monitored closely given the credible whispers this week that he could be on the move.
Any interested team has to be comfortable with the contractual realities on Bogdanović: The 32-year-old has one guaranteed year left on his contract and $16 million in 2025-26 before a $16 million team option (rather than player option) in 2026-27.
That same day, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reported that the Suns and the Hawks discussed trade scenarios involving out-of-favor center Jusuf Nurkic, including a nod to the reporting of Michael Scotto of HoopsHype:
Sources have informed The Arizona Republic the Suns have been talking to teams throughout the league about trading 7-footer Jusuf Nurkic, with the Atlanta Hawks being one of those teams.
[…]
Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported this week the Suns are looking to pair up one of the first-round picks they obtained from Utah with Nurkic to acquire a “high-level” rotation player.
Just looking at the Hawks and based on contracts alone, the Suns could trade Nurkic and a first-round pick for guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is due $17.2 million this season.
Finally, on Friday there came reporting from Brian Windhorst of ESPN involving Brandon Ingram on Get Up:
Brandon Ingram is a guy who’s been on the trade block for months. […] I’m seeing a little bit of a warmup in some talks between [Ingram and Zach LaVine]. Specifically, keep an eye on the Atlanta Hawks.
They just lost their star wing Jalen Johnson for the season. They may start to get interested in making a move, especially for Brandon Ingram. Keep an eye on that.
Brad Rowland of the Locked on Hawks podcast echoes those rumors that he’s heard buzz surrounding this situation.
Windy mentions the Hawks and Brandon Ingram.
FWIW — I have also heard some buzz there. https://t.co/9PIpplUEJh
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) January 31, 2025
Clearly, the Hawks are making phone calls and exploring different scenarios for trades that may or may not happen by Thursday afternoon.
Ingram, in particular, is a surprising to Atlanta given his reported desire to land a large contract in the offseason. He’s only appeared in 18 games to this point, but he’s a proven 20+ point-per-game scorer and can aide in turning around the Hawks’ shooting struggles…at least for the final two months of the season and health permitting.
What do you make of these rumors?