The Hawks made some decisions late Wednesday as they continue to find ways to address their roster crunch. They signed wing Vit Krejci to a standard deal and extended the date to guarantee center Bruno Fernando’s contract, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Hawks and Krejci agreed to a four-year, $10 million deal after the team tendered a two-way qualifying offer to the 24-year-old June 29. The Hawks tendered a two-way qualifying offer as a formality to keep him as a restricted free agent as they looked to negotiate a deal.
Krejci has been one of the players that the Hawks point to as proof that their goal of developing internally is on the right path.
The team signed Krejci to a two-way deal in December after waiving him in August. Krejci cracked the team’s rotation late in the season as the Hawks dealt with numerous injuries in March and April. In 22 games, with 14 starts, he averaged 6.1 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
He put up a career-high 19 points April 10, where he shot 8-of-14 overall and made three 3-pointers. In the Hawks’ April 1 win over the Bulls, Krejci shot 6-of-6 from 3, four of which came in the second quarter and included a buzzer-beater at halftime.
The team had the chance to sign Krejci to a standard contract on the final day of the regular season and make him eligible to play in the postseason. But the Hawks opted to wait to sign a deal in the offseason. Had they signed him in April, the 2023-24 season would have counted as one year of a four-year deal.
Now, they can have him under contract for four full seasons.
The Hawks also pushed back the deadline to guarantee Fernando’s $2.7 million contract to Aug. 1. They already had extended the deadline from June 29 to July 10.
The team has 16 players under contract, and now they will have more time and flexibility to make the necessary tough decisions to trim the roster to 15 players on standard contracts and up to three two-way players.
The team signed first-overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to his rookie deal July 6 and Seth Lundy to a two-way deal Tuesday.
The moves came hours after Hawks general manager Landry Fields addressed reporters regarding the team’s decision to trade Dejounte Murray at the end of last month.
Here’s a look at the Hawks roster:
PG: Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Kobe Bufkin
SG: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Garrison Mathews, Nikola Djurisic*
SF: De’Andre Hunter, Zaccharie Risacher, Vit Krejci
PF: Jalen Johnson, Mo Gueye, EJ Liddell
C: Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, Larry Nance, Bruno Fernando*
* on non-guaranteed deal/ has not signed contracts
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