- Speaking today to reporters, Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk confirmed that the club anticipates having contract extension discussions with John Collins‘ reps once they’re able to do so (Twitter link via Brad Rowland of Uproxx). Collins will become eligible for a rookie scale extension once the 2020/21 league year begins.
Monday, September 14 marks the first day of the three-week offseason workout window for the NBA’s bottom eight teams. The first phase of these de facto training camps will last for one week, through next Monday. During that time, activities will continue to be limited to individual workouts, as participants begin being tested daily for the coronavirus.
After one week, once participating players have returned multiple negative COVID-19 tests – or have been quarantined if they test positive – the second phase of the camps will take place in bubble-type environments. Group workouts, including practices and intra-squad scrimmages, will be permitted during the next two weeks as coronavirus testing continues.
The eight teams not invited to Orlando – the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Knicks, Pistons, Bulls, and Hornets – won’t congregate at a single site like the top 22 teams did at Walt Disney World. Their “bubbles” will be created in their respective markets.
[RELATED: Eight Teams Left Out Of Restart To Conduct Workouts At Home Sites]
For instance, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes, the Bulls will stay at a downtown hotel and will be transported back and forth between there and the Advocate Center. The Hawks, meanwhile, are working to secure their players a hotel that has not yet opened to help avoid any outside contact, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The other clubs will make similar arrangements.
These workouts – both the individual sessions this week and the group activities beginning next week – are entirely voluntary. However, since these players have been unable to take part in organized basketball activities with teammates since March and are likely itching to get back on the court, there’s an expectation that attendance will be robust for most clubs.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports, for example, that the Hawks anticipate all their core players – including Clint Capela – will take part in the camp. Jeff Teague is one of the only players not expected to participate, per Spencer, who notes that the veteran point guard is ticketed for free agency.
The Pistons are in a similar situation — James L. Edwards III of The Athletic reports that free-agent-to-be Langston Galloway isn’t expected to be in attendance, but most of the rest of the team’s players will participate.
There are some cases where players who could reach free agency in the coming months will take part in workouts. For instance, Marc Berman of The New York Post says that Bobby Portis and Taj Gibson will likely be in attendance for the Knicks. Portis has a pricey team option for 2020/21, while only $1MM of Gibson’s $9.45MM salary is guaranteed, so both vets could be let go by the team this fall.
Berman does caution that some veteran Knicks players intend to participate in individual workouts but won’t join the rest of the club in the “bubble.”
Teams that want to fill gaps on their roster and make sure they have enough players to hold intra-squad scrimmages will be able to invite players who suited up for their G League affiliates this past season. For example, Lindell Wigginton and Canyon Barry of the Iowa Wolves will join Minnesota for the team’s mini-camp at Mayo Clinic Square, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
With these offseason camps set to end on October 6 and the NBA Finals likely to wrap up shortly thereafter, the next time clubs meet for organized activities will presumably be for training camps at the start of the 2020/21 season.
- With the Pistons, Hawks, and Knicks poised to enter the 2020 offseason as three of the teams with the most cap flexibility, James L. Edwards III, Chris Kirschner, and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explore how those Eastern lottery clubs could potentially control free agency.
- In his own mailbag, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic examines a number of topics related to the Hawks, including the rising expectations for head coach Lloyd Pierce and what will happen if the team fails to make the playoffs next year. Atlanta is set to sport a core consisting of Trae Young, John Collins, Clint Capela and a number of young players next season, including the No. 6 pick in this year’s NBA draft.
- Among the league insiders polled by Bontemps, two teams – the Hawks at No. 6 and the Suns at No. 10 – were mentioned most frequently as candidates to be active in trade talks on (or leading up to) draft day. As Bontemps observes, both teams have cap flexibility and will face some pressure from ownership to make the playoffs in 2020/21.
- The Sixers‘ flameout in the first round of the playoffs could benefit the Hawks. Philadelphia could be willing to deal one or more of its starters, according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, who joins forces with Peachtree Hoops’ Andrew Kelly to explore how various Sixers – along with some other potential trade targets from around the league – could fit in with Atlanta’s current mix.
The Hawks are expected to enter the 2020 offseason with more salary cap space than any other NBA team, putting them in position to potentially add a major piece or two to their roster. It’s not clear if Atlanta will be more aggressive in free agency or on the trade market – or if the team might preserve some of its cap room for 2021 – but big man John Collins tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he’s prepared to recruit players to the franchise.
“I try my best, as I feel like all other NBA players try to recruit other good players or other good friends,” Collins said. “I’m definitely always trying to hit up guys. I can’t tell you who I’m talking to or who I’m trying to get down here, I’ve got to let that simmer, but I’m trying to be GM J.C. over here, just know that.”
Collins explained to Scotto that his pitch to a star player considering the Hawks would focus on Trae Young‘s passing ability, Collins’ own willingness to give up offensive touches, and the team’s flexibility to offer big money using its cap room.
Collins’ conversation with Scotto also touched on many other topics and is worth checking out in full. Here are a few of the highlights:
On Collins’ name coming up in trade rumors before February’s deadline:
“I wasn’t too hung up over that. Whenever I’m in trade talks, that’s a good thing. That means other teams are seeing my value, want me, and so I try to take it as a good thing.”
On the Hawks’ roster needs:
“I can’t tell you, players, specifically, but I think we need just some veteran leadership. We need more guys with minds like Vince (Carter). Having Vince was a blessing, and losing him is going to hurt us. If we don’t try to cover his ability to have so much knowledge and spread it, that is so valuable. I feel like we need more guys like who have been in the league for a minimum of six or seven years, understand what it takes on a day-to-day basis to come in, work out, lift, get your body right, recover, eat, right. It creates a culture when you see five or six guys doing it consistently every day. Now the whole team is doing it every day.
“… We’ve got young guys in the locker room. I’m going to be 23. Trae just turned 21. Cam Reddish just turned 21. Kevin Huerter is 22. Bruno Fernando is 22. We’re all super duper young, and I know we’re all talented, and we have all the potential in the world, but we need some help and some guidance.”
On his interest in signing a rookie scale contract extension this offseason:
“I would love it. I would love to say in Atlanta, I would love to be here, so I feel great about it. We’re in good hopes and good spirits with everything right now. Nothing’s really come up as of yet. Everything is still in the talks, but like I said, I’m definitely still in great spirits, and everything is going well. I’m all in. I’m true to Atlanta. There’s nothing else I’ve got to say. I’m ready to extend.”
- Buddy Hield and Spencer Dinwiddie are among the trade candidates that the Hawks might pursue to pair with Trae Young, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic opines. Kirschner and Peachtree Hoops’ Andrew Kelly take an in-depth look at what type of trades Atlanta might explore this offseason using the team’s cap room.
Following his retirement as a player earlier this year, Vince Carter has already lined up his next job, according to Andrew Marchand of The New York Post, who reports that the veteran forward has agreed to join ESPN as an analyst.
A report last week indicated that Carter and the Hawks had engaged in some preliminary discussions about the possibility of him taking on a role with the franchise. However, the 22-year veteran had spoken frequently in the past about wanting to pursue a broadcasting role when his playing career was over.
Even when he was still playing, Carter made appearances on TNT, ESPN, and FOX Sports, called Summer League games, and hosted his own podcast for The Ringer. According to Marchand, the 43-year-old was viewed as a “top broadcasting free agent” once he finished his career.
It remains to be seen how exactly Carter will be utilized on ESPN, but in the past, the future Hall-of-Famer has expressed a desire to break down the X’s and O’s of the game.
“I wouldn’t go (the) Stephen A. (Smith) route,” Carter previously told The New York Post. “I wouldn’t go the quiet route. … I want to explain the game where you are watching it and say, ‘Ah, that makes sense.'”
When the NBA completed its draft lottery last week, awarding the Timberwolves the No. 1 overall pick, it ensured that the full draft order for 2020 has now been established.
Of the 60 picks in this year’s draft, a total of 28 – nine in the first round and 19 in the second – have been traded from one team to another. However, that number could have been even higher if not for the protections that were applied to several traded picks.
In some cases, those traded draft picks will be rolled over to 2021 with identical protections. In other cases, teams have been awarded a different pick (or two) as a consolation for not receiving the protected 2020 pick. And in a couple instances, the obligation from one team another has simply been extinguished by virtue of this year’s protections.
Here’s a breakdown of the traded draft picks that were protected in 2020 and what will happen with them going forward:
First Round
Cavaliers’ 2020 first-round pick (top-10 protected) to Pelicans
Initially traded to Atlanta for Kyle Korver, the Cavaliers’ top-10 protected 2020 first-round pick was flipped by the Hawks to the Pelicans a year ago when Atlanta moved up to No. 4 to draft De’Andre Hunter.
Because the pick landed at No. 5 this year, the Cavaliers kept it. Instead of owing New Orleans a future first-rounder, Cleveland will send its unprotected 2021 and 2022 second-round picks to the Pelicans.
Jazz’s 2020 first-round pick (1-7 and 15-30 protection) to Grizzlies
Part of the Mike Conley trade, this pick was protected on either end of the first round, since the Jazz didn’t want to give up a high lottery selection, while the Grizzlies preferred not to receive a pick in the 20s. It was protected this year as a result of landing at No. 23.
The Jazz now owe the Grizzlies their 2021 first-round pick, with the same protections (1-7 and 15-30). If it doesn’t land between 8-14 next year, it will become simply top-six protected in 2022.
Warriors’ 2020 first-round pick (top-20 protected) to Nets
It became fairly obvious early in the season that this pick – included as part of the Kevin Durant/D’Angelo Russell sign-and-trade, had no chance of conveying. The Warriors’ first-rounder ended up at No. 2 overall.
The Nets will now have to wait five years to get a pick from the Warriors, who owe Brooklyn their unprotected 2025 second-round pick.
Second Round
Pacers’ 2020 second-round pick (45-60 protected) to Nets
The Nets are still waiting on this pick as a result of a 2016 trade which saw them trade Thaddeus Young for the first-round pick that became Caris LeVert. It was originally supposed to be a 2017 second-rounder, but has been protected since then — it landed at No. 54 this year.
The Pacers now owe the Nets their 2021 second-rounder with the same 45-60 protection. That protection will also apply in 2022. If it still hasn’t changed hands by then, Brooklyn will receive Indiana’s unprotected 2023 second-rounder.
Hawks’ 2020 second-round pick (top-55 protected) to Celtics
The Hawks owed Boston their top-55 protected second-round pick, but never really expected it to be conveyed. It was a placeholder in a 2019 Jabari Bird trade that saw Atlanta acquire some cash. Atlanta’s second-round pick this year is No. 34 and was instead sent to the Sixers, who would have received it if it fell anywhere between 31-55.
The Hawks’ obligation to the Celtics is now extinguished.
Trail Blazers’ 2020 second-round pick (top-55 protected) to Nets
Like the Atlanta/Boston pick, this was a placeholder pick, first traded way back in 2015 from the Trail Blazers to Orlando in exchange for Maurice Harkless. From there, it went to Cleveland in 2016, Atlanta in 2017, and Brooklyn in 2018 as part of the Hawks’ acquisition of Jeremy Lin.
Because the Trail Blazers’ pick, which landed at No. 46, was protected this year, their obligation to the Nets is now extinguished.