- In a conversation with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, former NBA executive Seth Partnow says that he’d be wary of offering a maximum-salary extension to John Collins this offseason if he were running the Hawks. Partnow would be comfortable with a deal in the four-year, $80MM range, which may not be enough to lock up Collins before he reaches restricted free agency in 2021.
When the NBA suspended its season on March 11, Hawks wing Vince Carter recognized immediately that he may have made his last appearance as an NBA player that night, discussing the possibility after the game.
Six weeks later, we don’t have much further clarity on whether or not Carter will get a chance to suit up again for the Hawks this summer before he calls it a career. However, speaking to Chris Mannix of SI.com, Carter said he wouldn’t be upset if that March 11 contest ends up being his farewell from the NBA. He checked into that game vs. New York with 19 seconds left in overtime – after the news of Rudy Gobert‘s positive coronavirus test and the suspension of the season had broken – and knocked down the game’s final shot, a three-pointer.
“I ended on a pretty cool note,” Carter said.
The Hawks’ original schedule called for a home finale in Atlanta on April 15, the last day of the regular season. On April 10, the team had been scheduled to play in Toronto, where Carter started his NBA career in 1998 and blossomed into a star. While the 43-year-old admits it “would have been nice” to face the Raptors in Toronto one last time, he insists he’s “good with it” if that game doesn’t end up happening, Mannix writes.
Carter also explained why he has been happy to spend the final few seasons of a decorated 22-year NBA career playing for lottery teams in Sacramento and Atlanta.
“I had some (contenders) that were offering the opportunities,” Carter said, per Mannix. “They were saying, ‘We can’t guarantee (minutes).’ And I don’t expect anyone to guarantee me minutes. But to say, ‘We don’t think there’s any minutes, but you would help our team as far as just wisdom.’ That’s something I didn’t want to do. I just wanted to play. I could lend my wisdom and be an unbelievable mentor for a guy. But sometimes showing is better than telling.”
As for whether Carter has had any second thoughts about retiring at season’s end, Mannix writes that some doubt crept in for the eight-time All-Star during the first couple months of the season, but his concerns were assuaged by longtime NBA stars Dirk Nowitzki and the late Kobe Bryant, who told him he’d enjoy retirement.
“It was reassuring,” Carter told Mannix. “Comforting. Those are the guys that I wanted to talk to and hear from.”
- In a conversation with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Hawks center Clint Capela spoke about the experience of being traded, his expectations for next season, and his foot issues — the big man said he’s feeling healthier, but is still unsure if he’ll play if the season resumes in June or July. Capela also expressed optimism about his fit alongside John Collins: “I think we’re going to do well. I think we’re good enough to really figure out how to be efficient at what we do. He can shoot 3s and do other stuff. I think we can figure this out.”
After waiting out the first few days of free agency and then making modest moves in each of the last couple summers, the Hawks are in position to be more aggressive during 2020’s free agent period, general manager Travis Schlenk said on Monday, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Atlanta may have the most cap room of any NBA team this offseason, though Schlenk cautioned that that doesn’t mean the Hawks will spend wildly when the new league year begins.
“If there are guys that we think are good fits, we might be out of the gates a little bit sooner,” Schlenk said. “I think the thing I’m always hesitant of is a lot of the times the first couple of contracts handed out might not be the best ones that look the best on paper.
“I think it’s conceivable that we might make some offers (well) before we have in the past, but whether or not agents or players jump at the offers we make right away or see if there’s something better out there might prevent us from signing someone right away. I do anticipate us being a little more assertive in free agency, but it all depends on the cap and if it shrinks.”
According to Kirschner, the Hawks have a Zoom meeting scheduled for Tuesday in which they plan to examine all 29 other NBA teams, determining which cap exceptions they’ll have and how they might use them. That will give Atlanta a better idea of which of its own targets might be available and how might those players might cost.
As Kirschner details, Schlenk and the Hawks would ideally like to add younger players who can grow along with the current core — Clint Capela, who turns 26 next month, was a player who fit that bill. Schlenk also won’t hesitate to create competition on the roster for young players by adding veterans who can help the team win, since he’d rather have too much depth than not enough.
Schlenk offered up several more interesting tidbits on Monday. Let’s round up a few…
- The Hawks plan to keep their lottery pick unless “some great offer came our way and it’s something we couldn’t turn down,” according to Schlenk. As Kirschner relays, Atlanta also plans to take the best player available rather than focusing on a specific position. “We’re not in a position when you start picking (for need) that high in the draft,” Schlenk said. “I think it’s a mistake to draft on need unless the talent is equal, but you look for the best talent when you draft that high.”
- When the Hawks acquired Jeff Teague earlier in the season, they reportedly envisioned him as a player who could re-sign with the team and serve as Trae Young‘s backup beyond this season. It’s unclear how seriously Atlanta is still mulling that possibility. According to Kirschner, Schlenk thought the veteran point guard “struggled getting comfortable” with the Hawks. “I think he was still trying to feel out the situation,” Schlenk said. “I don’t think we saw what Jeff Teague has left in those 25 games that he was here with us. He’s going to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and obviously backup point guard is going to be a position (of need) for us. And we’ll have that dialogue with he and his agent at the proper time.”
- Asked to evaluate the Hawks’ performance in 2019/20, Schlenk gave the team an incomplete grade, pointing to John Collins‘ 25-game suspension, Capela’s inability to suit up due to injury, and – of course – the NBA’s hiatus as roadblocks that prevented the team from making a complete assessment. “I think the positives are after we got healthy, our most productive group was our draft picks on the floor,” the Hawks’ GM said, per Kirschner. “That’s obviously the exciting and positive part of it all.”
The Nuggets‘ acquired a first-round pick from the Rockets in the four-team, 12-player deal that sent Malik Beasley to the Wolves. That pick is currently slated to be the No. 21 overall selection and Mike Singer of the Denver Post examines five prospects the team could take at that spot in the first round.
Florida State guard Devin Vassell and Villanova forward Saddiq Bey are among the more intriguing options, in Singer’s view. Both players have range and could provide the Nuggets with depth, something that might be needed if Paul Millsap or Jerami Grant (player option) departs in free agency.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Nevada guard Jalen Harris has declared for the 2020 draft, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets. Harris, who averaged 21.7 PPG and 6.5 RPG in 30 games as a junior, is the No. 93 overall prospect on ESPN.com‘s big board.
- The Hawks could go a number of different directions with their first-round pick, which is expected to fall in the top five, Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Depending on where the pick lands, the team could look for a new backcourt partner for Trae Young (Anthony Edwards or perhaps LaMelo Ball) or simply go with the best player available.
- Some NBA teams want to delay the draft until at least August 1. Check out the latest on that, as well as some of the restrictions that teams are facing as they virtually evaluate prospects.
Jusuf Nurkic, who was technically selected by Chicago with the No. 16 overall pick back in 2014, believed “100%” that he was going to the Bulls, as he explains on his Twitter feed. Nurkic had received a visit from a team scout had visited him prior to the draft and he claims he was told Chicago would also select Gary Harris. Both players’ draft rights were sent to Denver on draft night in exchange for Doug McDermott, who was taken with the No. 11 overall pick.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- New Bulls GM Arturas Karnisovas was an assistant in Denver’s front office when the two teams executed that draft-night trade. There’s no telling what kind of moves Karnisovas will make in his new role, though as Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago notes, a main reason why Denver eventually dealt Nurkic before he truly broke out was the presence of Nikola Jokic. Chicago has no such superstar in its frontcourt.
- Although Clint Capela hasn’t had a chance to suit up for the Hawks, the big man should be a good fit with the team’s current core, Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago contends. Atlanta acquired Capela in a 12-player deal at the trade deadline.
- The Sixers will be remembered for underachieving if the NBA season doesn’t resume, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer argues. Philadelphia didn’t live up to the hype after a splashy offseason that included a trade for Josh Richardson and the signing of Al Horford.
Freshman forward Kahlil Whitney, who dropped out of Kentucky in January, has declared for the draft and will hire an agent, Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports. Whitney’s stock has taken a major hit since he arrived at Kentucky. He was the No. 12 recruit in the 2019 ESPN 100, but he struggled to keep his spot in the Wildcats’ rotation, averaging 3.3 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 12.8 MPG. He appeared in 18 games before dropping out of school. The 6’7” Whitney is ranked as the No. 80 NBA draft prospect in ESPN’s top 100 for the 2020 draft.
We have more draft-related news:
- The limitations for scouting prospects due to the pandemic has some executives worried about their evaluations, Keith Smith of NBC Sports reports. For the time being, they can only look at film. As the process moves along, they can conduct virtual meetings with prospects but workouts, and even watching live workouts remotely, are prohibited. There are other concerns as well. “If there are medical red flags, it can take a guy right off our draft board,” an Eastern Conference GM told Smith. “Now, we have to trust what we get from the agent, and there’s different motivation there. Then we, of course, want to see the guy work out.”
- Jordan Bruner has apparently opted to change schools rather than enter the draft pool. The former Yale forward is transferring to Alabama, Tyler DeLuca of Sooner Sportspad tweets. An earlier report suggested that Bruner, who has one year of eligibility remaining, would enter the draft.
- The latest ESPN mock draft has the Warriors selecting Georgia guard Anthony Edwards with the No. 1 overall pick. Edwards is ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s best available list. The mock draft, conducted by Givony and Mike Schmitz, has the Cavaliers selecting center James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick and the Hawks taking Auburn swingman Isaac Okoro at No. 3.
As expected, Thunder guard Chris Paul, Hawks guard Trae Young, and Bulls guard Zach LaVine are among the players who will participate in the H-O-R-S-E competition being organized by the NBA, NBPA, and ESPN, per a press release.
According to the announcement, Jazz guard Mike Conley, former NBA stars Chauncey Billups and Paul Pierce, newly-elected Hall-of-Famer Tamika Catchings, and three-time WNBA All-Star Allie Quigley will fill out the eight-person field for the event.
The four quarterfinal matchups will air on Sunday evening (April 12), with Young facing Billups and Catchings facing Conley in group one, while LaVine goes up against Pierce and Paul squares off against Quigley in group two. The group one winners will face one another in the first semifinal next Thursday (April 16), with the group two winners competing in the second semifinal. The final will take place on the same night.
A coin toss will determine which player starts each matchup. Each player will be required to describe his or her shot attempt beforehand and dunking won’t be permitted. ESPN’s Mark Jones will serve as the event’s host, with each player attempting shots from his or her own home gym.
The event will raise more than $200K in support of coronavirus relief efforts.
The NBA and ESPN have nearly finalized a plan to televise a H-O-R-S-E competition to help sate fans’ appetite for basketball, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
While it’s unclear exactly when the event will take place, Wojnarowski says Thunder guard Chris Paul, Hawks guard Trae Young, and Bulls guard Zach LaVine are among the players expected to participate. The field will also include a couple of WNBA players and recent NBA players, according to Woj.
As we relayed over the weekend, the plan would be for players to remain in isolation, likely in home gyms, while putting up shots against competitors.
H-O-R-S-E is a popular playground game in which a player attempts a shot, and if it goes in, a competitor has to make the same shot from the same spot on the court. Each failure to do so results in a letter, and the first player to spell out H-O-R-S-E is eliminated.
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the NBA calendar, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
After adding two more young cornerstones – De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish – to their roster in the 2019 draft lottery, the Hawks looked like one of the Eastern Conference’s most exciting young teams entering the 2019/20 campaign.
However, despite a monster offensive season from Trae Young, the Hawks didn’t take a major step forward this year. The team didn’t have a whole lot of effective veteran depth and its young players weren’t fully ready to carry the load — a 25-game John Collins suspension didn’t help either. Atlanta will head into ’20/21 hoping for continued growth from its young core and with the cap flexibility necessary to continue adding talent.
Here’s where things stand for the Hawks financially in 2020/21, as we launch our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Clint Capela ($16,000,000)
- Dewayne Dedmon ($13,333,333)
- De’Andre Hunter ($7,422,000)
- Trae Young ($6,571,800)
- Cam Reddish ($4,458,000)
- John Collins ($4,137,302)
- Kevin Huerter ($2,761,920)
- Bruno Fernando ($1,517,981)
- Brandon Goodwin ($100,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below. 1
- Total: $56,302,336
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Brandon Goodwin ($1,601,593) 1
- Total: $1,601,593
Restricted Free Agents
- DeAndre’ Bembry ($3,752,338 qualifying offer / $7,811,946 cap hold): Bird rights
- Skal Labissiere ($3,484,882 qualifying offer / $7,016,541 cap hold): Bird rights
- Damian Jones ($3,457,586 qualifying offer / $6,915,172 cap hold): Bird rights
- Charlie Brown Jr. (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $23,189,356
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Jeff Teague ($28,500,000): Bird rights
- No. 6 overall pick ($5,813,640)
- Vince Carter ($1,620,564): Early Bird rights
- Treveon Graham ($1,620,564): Early Bird rights
- Total: $37,554,768
Offseason Cap Outlook
Regardless of where the cap for the 2020/21 league year ends up, the Hawks are in a good spot and should have more room than virtually any other NBA team. If the cap remains the same as it was in ’19/20, Atlanta could still easily get to $44MM+ in space.
Although that would be more than enough cap room to make a play for a maximum-salary player, I’m skeptical that GM Travis Schlenk would want to go that route, even if team ownership is getting antsy to make a major splash.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Room exception: $4,767,000 2
Footnotes
- Goodwin’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
- This is a projected value.
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.