In what will be a down free agent market next summer, Bogdan Bogdanovic is the kind of sharp-shooting wing that teams covet, maybe leading someone to overpay him as a restricted free agent to try to poach him from the Kings.
It sounds like Bogdanovic wants that scenario to play out.
He told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee he got what would be a max offer from Sacramento — four-years, $51.4 million total — but is in no rush to sign it.“I would like to stay,” Bogdanovic said. “Everyone knows that I love Sacramento. Everyone loves to be here. It’s a great group of guys. I’m happy right now and I was happy all these years, but I don’t want to rush anything.”...
When asked if the Kings had offered him the maximum extension, Bogdanovic said: “Yeah, they did, but we will wait to see. Maybe we will sign tomorrow. Maybe we sign in a month. Who knows? We will see.”
He has until June 30 next season to sign the deal with Sacramento (this is different from Buddy Hield and other rookies, where the extension deadline is Oct. 21). Because of that timeline, Bogdanovic should be in no rush to sign the deal. If he has another strong season — he averaged 14.1 points per game and shot 36 percent from three, fitting in well next to De’Aaron Fox and spreading the floor — his value only goes up.
Because it is an extension of his current contract, the Kings can only offer 120 percent of his current salary to Bogdanovic in an extension, which averages out to $12.4 million a year. However, the Kings can match any offer restricted free agent Bogdanovic gets from another team. This means if another team wants to poach the Serbian wing, they need to come in with an offer far enough above $51.4 million to make Sacramento walk away.
Bogdanovic wisely will likely let that play out and happen next summer. If he doesn’t have the kind of season he expects, that offer from Sacramento is still on the table. Either way, it’s a good payday.