The Hawks have cut Eric Dawson, according to a press release from the team. The move brings Atlanta’s roster down to 15 players, but there’s still some uncertainty, since only 12 of them have fully guaranteed deals. Mike Scott seems likely to stick on his $100K guaranteed deal, and Shelvin Mack seems to slot in as the third point guard. If the Hawks do carry 15 players at the start of the regular season, it’s likely that Cartier Martin, on a non-guaranteed deal, beat out Dawson for a spot.
The 29-year-old Dawson came to camp with the Hawks hoping to add to an NBA resume that includes just four regular season games with the Spurs in 2011/12. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was an assistant on that San Antonio team, but the connection wasn’t enough to earn Dawson an opening-night roster spot. He notched 3.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game over three preseason contests.
Atlanta won’t be on the hook for Dawson’s non-guaranteed salary. If the Hawks keep just 13 players, they’ll retain about $3MM worth of wiggle room under the cap, as well as their $2.652MM room exception to use to acquire players later in the season.