The Hawks are looking at several point guards as they search for point guard depth, and Jose Calderon has emerged as one “prime” target for the team, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). Atlanta currently has one open spot on its roster after waiving Lamar Patterson.
Calderon, who was bought out by the Lakers after the trade deadline, cleared waivers today and became an unrestricted free agent, though he may go back on waivers soon. Calderon and the Warriors reached an agreement over the weekend, but after Kevin Durant went down with a knee injury, the team changed course and will instead sign Matt Barnes.
The Warriors reportedly still intend to honor their agreement with Calderon, signing him to a guaranteed rest-of-season contract and then waiving him to sign Barnes. However, if Calderon gets an offer from the Hawks or another team, perhaps he won’t feel compelled to finalize his deal with Golden State after all. (Update: Calderon was later signed and waived by the Warriors, so he’s back on waivers).
As Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported earlier today, the Hawks are considering both 10-day contracts and rest-of-season deals to fill their 15th roster spot. The team is also in the market for more of a pure point guard, after having experimented with adding a combo guard (Gary Neal) earlier in the season.
“We obviously brought in a guy like Gary who is more of a (shooting guard, point guard),” head coach and president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer said, per Vivlamore. “I think the 15th guy has to have some point guard in him, if not just a stone-cold point guard, which is probably more likely.”
Dennis Schroder has reliably handled the starting point guard position for the Hawks this season, but the club doesn’t have much depth at that spot, with rookie Malcolm Delaney serving as Schroder’s primary backup.