Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, T. Jones, Paul, Young, Questions

April 20th, 2024 at 3:18pm CST by Rory Maher

No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama just completed one of the most impressive rookie seasons in league history, becoming only the 10th player to ever average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. The other nine players are all Hall of Famers, and Wembanyama was the first to accomplish the feat in fewer than 30 minutes per game (29.7).

In a lengthy interview with O’Connor (YouTube link), the Spurs big man said he wasn’t surprised by his performance in 2023/24.

“It’s impossible to be surprised by your own performance, good or bad,” Wembanyama told The Ringer. “Because, ultimately, everything is a result of your own work and your mentality. I always want more, so I’m not surprised.”

San Antonio went just 22-60 this season, but Wembanyama more than lived up to his billing as a generational prospect. While he said he has no plans to become involved with potential front office moves right now, the 20-year-old admitted he’s been contacted by players interested in teaming up with him.

“Yeah, I’ve received some messages,” Wembanyama said. “Even from prospects. But I try to sustain my role. It’s a whole new world that I’m eager to discover. For sure, one day or the other, I’ll have to be involved in this, I guess, even though I’m staying in my role as a player.”

Here’s more from San Antonio:

After starting for the majority of the ’22/23 campaign, Spurs point guard Tre Jones came off the bench to open ’23/24. However, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes, experimenting with other players at the point produced lackluster results, and the team played considerably better once Jones was moved back into the starting five. Jones’ chemistry with Wembanyama was particularly noteworthy, McDonald observes, but it still seems likely that the Spurs will pursue other point guards this offseason, whether it comes in the draft, free agency or trades. For his part, Jones said he’s fine with whatever role he’s given. “I just want to improve my game and set myself up to be able to help the team win in any way possible,” Jones said. “No matter what position I’m in.”
While both Chris Paul and the Warriors have said they have mutual interest in a reunion, that’s far from a lock, since they’ll lose his Bird rights if they waive his non-guaranteed $30MM salary for next season. If Paul doesn’t return to Golden State, Marc Stein (Substack link) says there are “rumbles in circulation” that the Spurs might pursue the future Hall-of-Famer on a short-term deal.
In a subscriber-only story for The Express-News, McDonald explores five “burning questions” the Spurs will be faced with this summer, including whether or not they’ll pursue Hawks guard Trae Young. McDonald hears San Antonio hasn’t ruled out the possibility of going after Young or another star, but suggests the team’s “biggest swing” might come at a later date.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Miller, Heat, Wizards

April 18th, 2024 at 7:45pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Hawks fell to the Bulls in the play-in, failing to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020 as a result. With a roster that doesn’t fit together even when healthy, Atlanta could look to go in a number of different directions this offseason. The Hawks are stuck in the middle, lacking incentive to tank due to the first-round picks they owe the Spurs as a result of acquiring Dejounte Murray and also having several talented players on the roster.

As The Athletic’s John Hollinger observes, attention will likely turn to star guard Trae Young after trade talks involving Murray didn’t pan out at the deadline this year. Speculation regarding Young’s future continues to run rampant, and teams like the Lakers and Spurs are some of the most frequently named potential destinations.

Additionally, the Hawks will have significant money tied up in the frontcourt to both Clint Capela and Onyeka Okongwu, prompting Hollinger to wonder whether the team will look to trade one. Atlanta’s most significant impending free agent is Saddiq Bey, who is set to be restricted this summer, but he’ll be recovering from an ACL tear.

Both Hollinger and ESPN’s Bobby Marks assert the Hawks need to pick a lane by making a significant move of some kind, whether that’s moving Young or Murray. Armed with a young core that includes extension-eligible Jalen Johnson, Kobe Bufkin, Okongwu and AJ Griffin, along with potentially two top-16 picks (if Sacramento makes the playoffs), Atlanta has the assets necessary to retool rather than fully rebuild if they so choose.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets rookie Brandon Miller had a terrific first season and while he won’t win the Rookie of the Year award (that honor will almost certainly go Victor Wembanyama), he cemented himself as a franchise cornerstone in just one year, Alex Zietlow of The Charlotte Observer writes. In 74 games, Miller averaged 17.3 points while shooting 44.0% from the field and 37.3% from three. “He can be whatever he wants to be,” teammate Seth Curry said. “I see All-NBA, perennial All-Star, possible MVP consideration in his future. All the talent, all the size, the competitive nature. I think he’s going to work on his game and add stuff every year. So I’m excited to see him grow.“
The Heat are in the same position on Friday that they were a season ago. They hosted the Bulls in a win-or-go-home play-in tournament game for the eighth seed last season and will do so again this year, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. From Miami’s perspective, the win over Chicago jump-started a historic run that saw the Heat become the first No. 8 seed in a non-lockout season to reach the NBA Finals. However, the Bulls remember last year in a much more painful view, which could be a motivating factor against a Heat team without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier. “I remember that plane ride back home [last year] vividly, everybody was just frustrated,” Bulls guard DeMar DeRozan said.
Wizards general manager Will Dawkins and president Michael Winger admitted that year one of Washington’s rebuild featured growing pains, but they saw some positive steps within the organization, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins writes. Young players like Deni Avdija, Corey Kispert and Bilal Coulibaly all showed progress from the beginning to the end of the season. “We feel very strongly that we have the right fans, that we have the right principles, that we have the right market to build a sustainably great team,” Winger said. “We set out to do that a year ago. That plan has not changed at all.“
The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace tackles a similar topic, noting that the Wizards‘ regime is excited to dig into its first full offseason. As Wallace writes, the most significant move the team will make this season could be its head coaching hire.

Latest On Trae Young

April 17th, 2024 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

After averaging 26.4 points in 36.5 minutes per game during his first 51 contests this season, Hawks guard Trae Young scored 15.0 PPG while playing 26.6 MPG in three games last week upon returning from hand surgery. Having gotten a few appearances under his belt down the stretch, Young is hoping to see his usual playing time – and provide his usual production – in Wednesday’s play-in game vs. Chicago, according to Charles Odum of The Associated Press.

“I feel a lot better,” Young told reporters after practicing on Monday. “I’m just trying to make sure I can play at least close to my minutes that I played in the regular season in play-in games.”

Young logged fewer than 21 minutes last Wednesday in his first game back, but bumped that figure to 27 minutes on Friday and nearly 32 in Sunday’s regular season finale. As long as he can handle the increased workload, the Hawks figure to lean heavily on him, since they’ll be missing key rotation players like Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, and Saddiq Bey due to injuries. Even on the road, without those teammates available, Young feels good about Atlanta’s chances.

“Obviously you just play the cards you’re dealt,” Young said. “… That’s just my mentality. You know I feel like we can still win with the players we have, so I’m going to go out there and try to do it.”

Here’s more on Young:

Echoing previous reporting, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report says that many sources around the NBA believe Young will be traded this summer, though he cautions that the diminutive, offense-first guard wouldn’t be an ideal fit on some rosters. “It’s difficult to win with a player like Trae,” one Eastern Conference executive said to Pincus. “He needs to be the best player on your team, but he’s not at that top-tier level.”
Pincus runs through a few potential landing spots for Young, considering what trades to the Lakers, Spurs, or Nets might look like. Pincus suggests that it’s tricky to find many other clear fits, though he identifies the Pistons as a possible wild card. Keeping Young and trading Dejounte Murray may ultimately make more sense for Atlanta, Pincus writes, since Murray would be more popular on the trade market due to his less pricey contract and his two-way ability.
Although the Spurs need a long-term answer at point guard and have been linked to Young since February’s trade deadline, Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News advises not betting on a deal that sends Trae to San Antonio. “There are a lot of different ways this can go, and a lot of different stars (the Spurs) might end up targeting, but they’re not going to be the team that meets Atlanta’s price for Trae Young,” Finger writes in a tweet.

Poll: Who Will Win Wednesday’s Play-In Games?

April 17th, 2024 at 7:11am CST by Luke Adams

When we polled Hoops Rumors readers on Tuesday’s play-in games 24 hours ago, nearly half the respondents predicted victories for both the Lakers and Warriors, with roughly 36.7% forecasting a Pelicans win and only about 13.9% picking both the Lakers and Kings.

But that latter scenario is the one that played out, as the Lakers escaped New Orleans with a narrow victory to secure the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed, while the Kings got some level of revenge for last year’s first-round playoff exit by dispatching Golden State in the No. 9 vs. 10 game.

The Pelicans will now host the Kings in Friday’s do-or-die play-in game for the West’s No. 8 seed, but in the meantime, we have a pair of Eastern Conference play-in games on tap for Wednesday night.

In the early game, the No. 8 Heat will visit Philadelphia and battle the No. 7 Sixers for the right to claim the seventh seed and a first-round matchup with New York.

The stakes are high — while either team would be a significant favorite at home in a play-in game on Friday, losing tonight would result in a best-case scenario of a first-round date with the Celtics, who had the NBA’s best record for nearly the entire season. The Sixers and Heat would presumably rather take their chances with the Knicks.

Both teams have some injuries to deal with entering Wednesday’s game. The 76ers will be missing De’Anthony Melton (back) and Robert Covington (knee), while the Heat will be without Josh Richardson (shoulder) and Terry Rozier (neck).

Sixers center Joel Embiid is listed on the injury report as questionable due to left knee injury recovery, but there’s no doubt he’ll suit up — whether or not he’ll be anywhere near 100% is an open question. Embiid has only played five games since returning from knee surgery, and while he scored at least 30 points in three of those outings, his knee seemed to be bothering him on Friday, forcing him to sit out Sunday’s regular season finale.

If Embiid looks like himself, it bodes well for the Sixers, who have a +10.3 net rating in the big man’s 1,309 minutes on the court this season and went 31-8 in the games he played.

On the other hand, the Heat showed last spring that they’re extremely comfortable playing as a lower seed on the road with their backs against the wall, though it’s worth noting that the Miami team that made it to the NBA Finals did lose its first play-in game. The Heat, whose 24-17 road record this season ranked second among Eastern teams, are currently listed as five-point underdogs, per BetOnline.ag.

In the late game, the No. 9 Bulls are three-point favorites at home against the No. 10 Hawks. It has been an up-and-down season for both teams, who haven’t given us much reason to believe that a deep playoff run is in the cards.

The Bulls had the NBA’s 19th-best offensive rating and 22nd-best defensive rating this season for an overall net rating of -1.7 (20th). They also have a lengthy injury report. Zach LaVine, Lonzo Ball, Patrick Williams, and Onuralp Bitim are out due to season-ending injuries, while Julian Phillips (right midfoot sprain) remains unavailable and Andre Drummond (left ankle sprain) and Ayo Dosunmu (right quad contusion) are considered questionable to suit up.

Still, Chicago will have DeMar DeRozan, Coby White, and Nikola Vucevic available to provide offensive firepower, while defensive ace Alex Caruso attempts to slow down Atlanta’s star backcourt.

Like Embiid in Philadelphia, Hawks leading scorer Trae Young only recently returned from a lengthy injury absence, appearing in the team’s final three regular season games after missing the previous 23 due to hand surgery. If he’s not in peak form, more offensive responsibilities will fall to fellow guards Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

The Hawks had the NBA’s 12th-best offense this season but ranked just 27th on defense and finished behind the Bulls in overall net rating, with a -2.0 mark (No. 21). They also have some key injury absences of their own, with Jalen Johnson (right ankle sprain), Onyeka Okongwu (left big toe sprain), and Saddiq Bey (torn ACL) all sidelined.

Given that the two teams look relatively evenly matched, it’s possible home-court advantage could be the difference for the Bulls. The Hawks went just 15-26 on the road this season.

We want to know what you think. Will it be the Sixers or Heat clinching their playoff berth today? Will it be the end of the road for the Bulls or the Hawks?

Make your Eastern Conference play-in picks in the poll below, then head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!

Krejci Not Elevated From Two-Way Deal

April 14th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks, who will face the Bulls in the play-in tournament on Tuesday, could have promoted two-way player Vit Krejci to a standard contract and made him eligible for the postseason. They chose not to do so, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Lauren Williams reports.

Williams says one of the reasons for the decision is the Hawks are weighing the fact that Krejci will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, which gives them the right of first refusal. They hope to retain him on a four-year deal, beginning next season, Williams adds (Twitter links).

Promoting Krejci would have required Atlanta to cut a player from its standard 15-man roster, and while there was no one obvious candidate to be waived, Krejci has played more minutes as of late than several Hawks reserves.

Eastern Conference’s Top Six, Play-In Tournament Set For 2024

April 14th, 2024 at 3:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

It came down to a blown DeMar DeRozan overtime buzzer beater attempt, but the Knicks finally clinched the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed by winning a nationally broadcast ESPN clash against the Bulls this afternoon.

Earlier in the day, several other East playoff and play-in clubs wrapped up their 2023/24 regular seasons, thus cementing the conference’s top 10 heading into the postseason. Six teams won between 47 and 50 games, with three clubs sporting identical 47-35 records.

Obviously the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds will be determined by the play-in tournament, which will tip off mid-week. That will thus dictate the 1-8 and 2-7 matchups of the first round.

Here is the finalized order of the Eastern Conference’s top 10 for the 2024 postseason:

Boston Celtics (64-18)
New York Knicks (50-32)
Milwaukee Bucks (49-33)
Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34)
Orlando Magic (47-35)
Indiana Pacers (47-35)
Philadelphia 76ers (47-35)
Miami Heat (46-36)
Chicago Bulls (39-43)
Atlanta Hawks (36-46)

Two matchups are now locked in, while two are yet to be determined.

The No. 3 Bucks will square off against the No. 6 Pacers. Indiana owns a 4-1 season record against Milwaukee (they faced off during the semifinals of this year’s inaugural in-season tournament). Milwaukee’s two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out the team’s final three games of the regular season due to a left calf strain, and his status for the beginning of the playoffs is unclear.

The No. 4 Cavaliers will play the No. 5 Orlando Magic. Those two teams have split their season series, 2-2.

Per the NBA, here is the breakdown of this year’s Eastern Conference play-in tournament schedule, slated to start this Wednesday, April 17 via ESPN:

No. 7 Philadelphia will host No. 8 Miami at 6 p.m. CT. The victor will advance as the No. 7 seed to play the Knicks, who will be without All-Star power forward Julius Randle for the duration of the playoffs.
No. 9 Chicago will host No. 10 Atlanta at 8:30 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to play whichever team loses the 7-8 matchup.
The loser of the Sixers/Heat matchup will host the winner of Bulls/Hawks on Friday, April 19. That contest’s winner will move on to play the Celtics as the East’s No. 8 seed.

The first round of the playoffs will officially tip off on Saturday, April 20.

Hawks’ Johnson, Okongwu To Miss Multiple Weeks

April 11th, 2024 at 11:55am CST by Rory Maher

Hawks forward Jalen Johnson underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed a Grade 2 lateral ankle sprain. He’ll be reevaluated in about three weeks, Atlanta announced in a press release.

Johnson, 22, has had a breakout third season for the Hawks, averaging 16.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.2 SPG on .511/.355/.728 shooting in 56 games (33.7 MPG). He sustained the injury in Tuesday’s double-overtime loss to Miami.

The former first-round pick will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason. If no deal is reached, Johnson will hit restricted free agency in 2025.

The Hawks also provided an injury update on backup big man Onyeka Okongwu, who has been limited to just two games since the All-Star break due to a left big toe sprain. Okongwu underwent a non-surgical procedure in California on Tuesday in order to address ongoing inflammation in the toe, per the team. He’ll be reevaluated in approximately four weeks.

Okongwu, 23, has averaged 10.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.1 BPG on .611/.333/.793 shooting in 55 games in 2023/24 (25.5 MPG). He signed a four-year, $62MM rookie scale extension last offseason that begins in ’24/25.

The injuries are devastating for the Hawks, who just got Trae Young back from hand surgery on Wednesday but will now be missing three of their top frontcourt players entering the play-in tournament. Forward Saddiq Bey is also out for the season after suffering a torn ACL.

Atlanta is currently 36-44, the No. 10 seed in the East, and trail the No. 9 Bulls by 1.5 games with two games remaining in the regular season.

Forward De’Andre Hunter and center Bruno Fernando will likely receive extra playing time entering the postseason. Guard/forward Vit Krejci is also a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, but the Hawks have a full 15-man roster, so they’d have to waive someone in order to convert the former second-round pick.

Trae Young Could Return As Soon As Wednesday

April 10th, 2024 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

Trae Young is nearing a return to action, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the Hawks‘ star guard could play as soon as Wednesday vs. Charlotte.

The team announced earlier this week that Young, who underwent left hand surgery in February after tearing a ligament in his finger, had been cleared for practice and contact, so Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t come as a major surprise.

It sounds like Atlanta’s goal will be to get Young back on the court for at least a couple games before the team’s play-in matchup vs. Chicago next week. After tonight’s contest vs. the Hornets, the Hawks will wrap up their regular season schedule by visiting Minnesota on Friday and Indiana on Sunday.

Although they’re locked into the No. 9 vs. 10 play-in game, the Hawks could gain home court advantage for that win-or-go-home showdown with a strong finish. They’re currently one game back of Chicago in the standings, though the Bulls hold the tiebreaker.

The Hawks won 12 of their first 20 games after Young went down in February, but are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak and will welcome the return of their leading scorer. An All-Star this season for the third time in his career, Young has averaged 26.4 points and a career-high 10.8 assists in 51 games (36.5 MPG), with a shooting line of .426/.371/.856.

Hawks Notes: Murray, Young, Krejci, Gueye

April 10th, 2024 at 7:52am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on Trae Young‘s From The Point podcast (YouTube link) this week, Young’s Hawks teammate Dejounte Murray downplayed the trade rumors that have surrounded the two guards in recent months, dismissing them as internet chatter.

“People are going to do all the stuff they do on the internet,” Murray said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “They have to do that; they can’t just say good (stuff) because the bad stuff sells. The bad stuff is what makes any of us go read. Not too many people want to read, ‘Oh, this is the good thing that was put out.’ The negativity is the stuff that sells.

“So, you know, for me, when I see just all the BS, ‘Trade this guy or trade that guy.’ It means nothing. It’s somebody behind their computer. … I’m not the GM, he’s not the GM. I’m not the coach, he’s not the coach. So for me, that stuff means nothing.”

Young, meanwhile, refuted the idea that there’s any tension between the two Hawks point guards, stressing that his relationship with Murray goes “beyond basketball.”

“I think relationships can always be better if your team’s winning and things like that, and juices are flowing,” Young said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “But, I think there are certain relationships that you have that are just deeper than basketball. And so, he’s one of those guys that, I mean, it’s forever deeper than that. So, I got a good relationship with him, man.”

Here’s more on the Hawks:

In spite of Murray’s and Young’s comments, Marc Stein (Substack link) hears from a league source that a trade involving one of those two guards continues to be the most likely scenario this offseason in Atlanta.
Hawks two-way player Vit Krejci has been a regular rotation piece as of late, averaging 27.8 minutes per game and starting 13 of Atlanta’s past 17 contests, prompting John Hollinger of The Athletic to wonder if the team will promote him to its 15-man roster this week. Krejci won’t be eligible for the Hawks’ play-in game (or the playoffs, if they make it) unless he’s converted to a standard contract, but the team doesn’t have an obvious candidate to be waived to make room for him, according to Hollinger, who adds that Garrison Mathews and Wesley Matthews looked like possible release candidates at one point but have both been playing more regularly recently.
A lower back stress fracture and a UCL sprain derailed Mouhamed Gueye‘s rookie season, limiting him to just three NBA appearances and four games in the G League. The silver lining, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that those injuries taught Gueye a lesson he might not have learned if he’d been healthy. “If you’re not injured you really don’t know how to take care of your body,” Gueye said. “That’s what I learned — taking care of my body, icing every day, being disciplined. Not just doing it because you feel like it but do it every day because it’s gonna pay off. And honestly just listening to guys like (Hawks assistant) Ekpe (Udoh). He went through it his rookie year too like, just be patient and your time will come.”

Hawks Star Trae Young Cleared For Practice, Contact

April 8th, 2024 at 4:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hawks star guard Trae Young has been cleared for team practice and contact, according to a team press release.

Young underwent hand surgery on Feb. 25 after sustaining a torn ligament in his left fifth finger on Feb. 23 during a home game against Toronto. He had his six-week follow-up evaluation on Monday.

The Hawks are locked into the Eastern Conference’s 9-10 play-in tournament game against the Bulls, though home court for that April 17 game has yet to be determined. Young’s potential return could have a significant impact in that tournament. The Hawks have done well enough without Young, going 12-10 since he was sidelined.

Young stated in a podcast last week that he was optimistic he could return soon. “Hopefully next week I can make a fist and I can get out of this cast. And then I can play,” he said at that time. “So hopefully next week.”

An All-Star this season for the third time in his career, Young is averaging 26.4 points and a career-high 10.8 assists this season in 51 games (36.5 MPG), with a shooting line of .426/.371/.856.