- As a report last week confirmed, the Hawks and Pistons had been discussing a trade that would have sent Andre Drummond to Atlanta for a package headlined by Chandler Parsons‘ expiring contract and the Nets’ lottery-protected 2020 first-round pick. Multiple league sources tell O’Connor that the Hawks ended up being unwilling to include that first-rounder due to concerns about how high Drummond’s contract demands are.
Since he told reporters on January 4 that the Hawks would be making him and Chandler Parsons inactive going forward, Evan Turner hasn’t played a single minute for Atlanta. The Hawks have focused on their youth movement, which has essentially made Turner an afterthought — unless his expiring $18.6MM salary can be used in a trade that nets the club a future asset.
It’s a new experience for Turner, a former No. 2 overall pick who has appeared in more than 700 career regular season games and had never averaged fewer than 22 minutes per contest entering this season. Still, he tells Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, he understands the Hawks’ position and is remaining positive even as his role has disappeared.
As Turner continues to work out and stay in game shape in the hopes of eventually getting an opportunity to return to the court in Atlanta or elsewhere, the 31-year-old spoke to Kirschner about his experience with the Hawks this season, whether or not he’ll seek a buyout next month, and his outlook on the team’s future.
Here are a few highlights from the discussion, which is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber:
On why he thinks things didn’t work out after the Hawks brought him in to be Trae Young‘s backup:
“I’ve been injured some, and being Trae’s backup means he’s averaging 36 (minutes) per game, so what would I be playing? Like three minutes at a time? That’s not like any type of diss or anything like that. If you don’t know the conversation we’re having, you get a bitter individual. That’s not the case. You say Trae’s backup, and that’s 12 minutes, maybe. I also understand that it’s about development. Like Brandon (Goodwin), he’s gotten a great opportunity to continue to vibe in this league, and I’m excited for him for that.”
On how long it took him to accept his role – or lack thereof – in Atlanta:
“To be completely honest, when we started the season, you could see that we had already broken down, and we’re rebuilding, rebuilding. You see signs pointing toward it. I try not to dwell on that stuff. I do my best to try to control what I can control. When it comes down to it, the one thing I try not to do, as a man, is I don’t like the front-running s–t. ‘When s–t is going well for me, I’m happy, and when it’s not going well for me, I’m b—hing.’ Nah. For me personally, there’s never been a moment where I’ve been like that.”
On whether he might seek a buyout in search of a new opportunity next month:
“You just walk out and say, ‘Look, bruh, this little buyout means I’m going to get all my bread, right?’ If he says no, you say, ‘Well, you might as well learn my favorite color.’ You let your agent worry about that stuff, though. I think (GM) Travis (Schlenk) is a classy dude. I’ve never gotten the sense from him where he’s not going to be honest or do you right. I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a haggle. I’m not saying he owes me anything, and I don’t owe him anything, but I just think I’ve never gotten the sense from him where we’ll be arguing over a few pennies. I’m not going to worry about that, and wherever it takes me, it’s all good. It’s all going to be OK.”
On the Hawks’ long-term potential:
“I think the biggest thing is if they have established roles and figure it out, I think we could be dangerous. These aren’t little kids. You have a guy like De’Andre (Hunter), who’s 6’8″ and like 220 (pounds). You have a kid like Cam (Reddish), who’s had up and down moments but when he gets going, he has All-Star written on him. … You have dudes like Trae, who can do what we needs to do and is a possible All-Star this season. John Collins is going to be legit. I think if they turn the right corner, they have pieces you can trade for. I think they’re going to be OK.”
After being re-evaluated by the team, Hawks forward Jabari Parker has been cleared to move onto the next stage of his rehab process, but his return from a shoulder injury still isn’t imminent, according to the team.
The Hawks announced in a press release that Parker’s next steps will include “controlled movement and gradual reloading of his rotator cuff.” The former No. 2 overall pick will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the club said.
Parker, who had been Atlanta’s third-leading scorer this season, has been limited to just 15 total minutes since Christmas due to his shoulder ailment, which will now sideline him into February. When healthy, he has been a solid contributor for the Hawks, averaging 15.0 PPG and 6.0 RPG on 50.4% shooting in 32 games (26.2 MPG).
With Atlanta out of the playoff race and headed for a top spot in the lottery, Parker looked like a potential trade candidate. Now that there’s no guarantee he’ll be back on the court in time for the February 6 deadline, the odds are against him being involved in a deal.
Assuming he finishes the season with the Hawks, the 24-year-old will face a decision this offseason on whether to remain in Atlanta, since he holds a $6.5MM player option for the 2020/21 season.
As one of three Hawks veterans with a big expiring contract, Allen Crabbe entered the season as a trade candidate and it didn’t come as a huge shock when the team moved him last week. Still, the new Timberwolves swingman admits he was caught off guard by being dealt, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes.
“I was taken aback,” Crabbe said on Monday. “I didn’t hear anything leading up to this. … It definitely was a shock to me, but it’s not my first time being traded. It’s the business side. The only thing you got to try to do is pack up, get to your new team, get implemented and show up and go to work.”
It remains to be seen whether Crabbe will see an uptick in minutes – or in his team’s playoff odds – in Minnesota, but as a player who likes to shoot from outside, the 27-year-old believes the Timberwolves will be a good fit for his skill set.
“I mean, it’s a match made in heaven,” Crabbe said, per Hine. “They like to shoot threes, I love to shoot threes. So I can’t ask for anything better than that.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- When Chris Paul was first traded to the Thunder, there was an expectation that he wouldn’t be satisfied to stay in Oklahoma City. However, Paul has found happiness in OKC as the team has exceeded expectations this season, writes Rohan Nadkarni of SI.com. Within Nadkarni’s feature, CP3 also made it clear he has no interest in waiving his 2021/22 player option to accommodate a trade: “No chance. That’s not happening. Nope.” Paul’s player option is worth $44.2MM for his age-36 season, so the idea that he’d give it up to be traded was never a realistic one.
- As part of their trade with Sacramento, the Trail Blazers used Anthony Tolliver‘s outgoing salary to match Caleb Swanigan‘s incoming contract rather than taking on Swanigan using their disabled player exception, tweets Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights. As a result, Portland won’t create a $1.62MM traded player exception, but will still have its $2.86MM disabled player exception available. The DPE will expire on March 10, while the TPE would’ve been available for a year.
- With Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Paul Millsap all banged up and the Nuggets not looking to rush them back, the team’s depth is coming in handy, according to Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post. Players who have been in and out of the rotation – such as Juan Hernangomez, Malik Beasley, and Torrey Craig – have all seen regular action with those starters sidelined.
Hawks forward Chandler Parsons has retained the services of the law firm Morgan & Morgan after being involved in a car accident last Wednesday, as Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). Parsons was traveling home from practice when his car was struck by a driver who was subsequently arrested for drinking and driving.
“Morgan & Morgan has been retained by Mr. Parsons to help preserve all of his rights and navigate the legal process on his behalf in the wake of this terrible automobile crash,” attorneys John Morgan and Nick Panagakis said in a statement. “Chandler was seriously injured in this crash, which never should have occurred.”
According to that statement, Parsons suffered “multiple severe and permanent injuries” in the collision, including a traumatic brain injury, disc herniation, and a torn labrum. Morgan & Morgan’s statement indicates Parsons was in “peak physical condition” before the accident and is now working with a team of doctors to regain his health. The statement also suggests the accident has the potential to end Parsons’ playing career.
When the Hawks first announced Parsons’ injuries last week, the team only diagnosed him with a concussion and whiplash, entering him into the NBA’s concussion protocol. It’s unclear if the disc herniation and torn labrum mentioned in Morgan & Morgan’s statement reflect injuries later identified by team doctors or if Parsons sought outside opinions.
Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes (via Twitter) that the Hawks have updated their injury report to mention an “associated disc injury” in addition to “concussion/whiplash” for Parsons.
Parsons wasn’t part of the Hawks’ rotation before last week’s accident, having appeared in just five games this season for the team. Now that he’s out indefinitely, it appears he may have played his last game for the franchise — his contract will expire at season’s end. Hopefully the 31-year-old can fully recover from his injuries and eventually make it back to the court.
The Hawks are ineligible to apply for a disabled player exception to replace Parsons even if his injuries are deemed season-ending, since they’re under the cap and the January 15 deadline has passed.
The Kings aren’t done shaking up their roster after agreeing to a five-player trade with the Trail Blazers. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that Sacramento is still looking for a way to get rid of Dewayne Dedmon, who has been unhappy with his playing time.
The 30-year-old center was fined earlier this month for making his trade request public. The Kings signed Dedmon to a three-year, $40MM contract over the summer, but he quickly slipped behind Richaun Holmes in the rotation. Dedmon has played just 26 games and is averaging 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per night.
A report earlier this week suggested the Hawks might be interested in reacquiring Dedmon, who was their starting center for the past two seasons. Atlanta has enough available cap room that Dedmon’s salary wouldn’t be a burden, but the Kings are reportedly asking for more in return than the Hawks are willing to pay.
- Count Trae Young among those who like the Hawks‘ trade for Jeff Teague. According to Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Young referred to Teague as “one of the underrated point guards in our league” and praised the veteran’s ability to score, draw fouls, and get teammates involved.
- The Hawks‘ trade interest in Andre Drummond – which has apparently ended – was believed to be more ownership-driven, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who says the Pistons don’t have any real traction on a Drummond deal for now. Within his mailbag, Mannix also says he’d be surprised if the Warriors move D’Angelo Russell before the 2020 offseason.
The Hawks traded for Jeff Teague earlier today, adding a veteran presence to their second unit. Discussing the trade with Chris Kirschner of The Athletic , general manager Travis Schlenk said the franchise had been targeting the point guard since the beginning of the season and has interest in bringing back Teague in free agency after the campaign.
“That was one of the areas going into the summer that we knew we were going to have to address is point guard,” Schlenk said. “This is a great opportunity to have a dress rehearsal to see how it goes. We are hopeful. We think Jeff has a lot of good basketball left in him. We’re going to see how it goes, but in a perfect world, it would be a great scenario.”
Atlanta thought it had an answer for the back-up point guard position when it swapped Kent Bazemore for Evan Turner over the summer, but the move hasn’t worked out, as Turner has dealt with Achilles pain throughout the season. With the Teague addition, coach Lloyd Pierce has an answer for an area of his rotation that was a major question mark all season long.
Schlenk expects Teague and franchise point guard Trae Young to share the floor at times. Getting Young reps without the ball is something that the team has already been working on, using Kevin Huerter as a ball-handler on occasions.
The Hawks are not done dealing. While they are not in the Andre Drummond sweepstakes, they are expected to continue to parse the market for opportunities. Schlenk said the team’s focus is on adding “good players that we think can be with us past this season.” Dewayne Dedmon and Steven Adams are centers who could fill a void for Atlanta.
The Hawks traded for one veteran today but are no longer pursuing another, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, who reports that Atlanta has ended its negotiations with the Pistons for center Andre Drummond.
While both sides were initially hopeful that they could work out a deal, Atlanta has decided to stay patient, recognizing that there will be chances to improve this summer in the draft and during the free agency period, sources tell Haynes.
According to Haynes, the Hawks and Pistons discussed a swap that would have sent a first-round pick, Damian Jones, and an expiring contract (either Chandler Parsons‘ or Allen Crabbe‘s) to Detroit in exchange for Drummond.
Crabbe was included in the deal the Hawks completed today with the Timberwolves for Jeff Teague, but Atlanta could’ve acquired Drummond without him, so it doesn’t appear that wasn’t a factor in the club’s decision to end trade talks with Detroit.
While the Hawks are no longer pursuing a trade for Drummond, that doesn’t mean their interest in him has disappeared. The Pistons’ big man will be one of Atlanta’s top targets in free agency if the team is still seeking a long-term answer at center at that point, sources tell Haynes. Thunder center Steven Adams, who has previously been linked to the Hawks, is still on the team’s radar and may be a target at the trade deadline or in free agency, Haynes adds.
According to Basketball Insiders’ data, the Hawks only have about $27MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season. That figure doesn’t include Jabari Parker‘s $6.5MM player option or cap holds for free agents, including potential RFAs DeAndre’ Bembry and Jones. But even after accounting for those costs, Atlanta will have more than enough cap space to aggressively pursue Drummond, Adams, or any other players they like.
The Pistons, meanwhile, continue to actively field inquiries on Drummond, according to Haynes. The Celtics, Mavericks, and Raptors were among the other teams said earlier this month to have interest in the NBA’s leading rebounder, though based on their assets and movable contracts, none of those clubs seemed to be as ideal a trade partner as Atlanta.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.