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Hawks Notes: Young, Future, Pierce

March 5th, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

No matter how well Trae Young performs in his career, he will always be compared to Luka Doncic after the Hawks dealt the Slovenian wing to the Mavs in exchange for Young and a future first-rounder. Young embraces the comparisons, as he tells Marc Stein of The New York Times in the scribe’s latest newsletter.

“I know it’s a part of my life now,” Young said. “I tell everybody that hopefully we’re both 15-plus years down the line and we’re still playing and it’s a competition that’s been going since draft night…I think it’s going to go on forever, so might as well just accept it and take it on as a challenge.”

The Hawks are excited about the 20-year-old point guard in part because of his wise perspective at such a young age, Stein writes. Of course, Atlanta is also thrilled with Young’s game on the court. The University of Oklahoma product got off to a slow start to the season, but said the game “is really starting to slow down” for him. Young has averaged 21.5 points and 8.3 assists while making 39.2% of his looks from downtown since the start of the 2019 calendar year.

Here’s more from Atlanta:

  • The Hawks have the right pieces in place as they close out year-one of their rebuild, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contends.  In addition to their young core, which includes Young, John Collins, and Kevin Huerter, Atlanta will likely receive the Mavs’ 2019 first-rounder, which is top-5 protected. Dallas currently has the eighth-worst record, as our Reverse Standings show.
  • Young said Kevin Durant reached out to him, lending the rookie advice on how to deal with criticism, as Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports passes along. “[Durant] said remain [yourself], keep going, things are gonna turn and go the right way for you,” Young said. “Just to keep my head straight. I’ve known KD a long time, and he’s given me a lot of advice growing up.”
  • Young has the green light to shoot from anywhere on the court, though coach Lloyd Pierce emphasizes that the point guard isn’t the only player without restrictions, as Goodwill relays in the same piece. “The freedom is for everybody. There’s no restrictions on who’s taking the shots or who’s making the plays. It starts with Trae,” Pierce said. “There’s a time and place, what’s a good or bad shot, a quick shot. I probably yell at guys more for passing up shots than for taking shots. Brian Shaw said something years ago at a camp, ‘Don’t pass up good [expletive] for bulls–t.’ So I don’t care if it’s further back. If it’s an open shot and you’re in rhythm, take it.”
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Jaylen Brown: Celtics Must Fix “Toxic” Environment

March 5th, 2019 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

While Jaylen Brown has been fairly productive off the bench for the Celtics in recent weeks, logging some of his better performances of the season, he said this week that he’s “not feeling good at all” about the team’s overall play, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. According to Brown, the environment around the team needs to change.

“Right now it’s not good. It’s toxic,” Brown said. “I can’t really point out one thing. I don’t have all the answers. I’m just going to try to be part of the change. I’m going to try to do my best. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

Brown is just the latest in a string of Celtics players to express frustration with the situation in Boston. Kyrie Irving has done so multiple times this season, Marcus Morris spoke last month about the club not having any “fun,” and Marcus Smart said last week that the team is “just not together.” Like those other players, Brown doesn’t know exactly what the solution is, but still believes the C’s are capable of turning things around.

“I still believe,” he said, per Washburn. “I think we’ve got time to get it together. I’m very optimistic and very positive and think that we will . . . We keep talking about it. I’m just going to try to do it with my play, come out and play hard and try to change the atmosphere and this environment.”

Let’s round up a few more Celtics-related items…

  • Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston revisits several of the defining moments of the Celtics’ 2018/19 season, tracing the evolution of the club from Eastern Conference frontrunner to vulnerable, middle-of-the-pack playoff team.
  • In an illuminating story for ESPN.com, Jackie MacMullan talks to Gordon Hayward and some people around him about the veteran forward’s long, challenging quest to regain his All-Star form. Hayward has been assisted by a mental health counselor during the process, as MacMullan details.
  • According to data compiled by Eric Pincus at Basketball Insiders, the Celtics sent $2,055,910 to the Hawks in last month’s Jabari Bird salary dump. That amount was more than enough to cover the remaining portion of Bird’s $1,349,383 salary for 2019/20, so Atlanta easily came out ahead. So did Boston though — Bird’s cap hit would have cost the team about $2.27MM in projected tax penalties.
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Omari Spellman To Miss At Least Four Weeks

March 3rd, 2019 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

A left ankle injury will sideline the Hawks‘ Omari Spellman for at least four weeks, writes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The rookie forward had an MRI on Saturday that revealed a low grade high ankle sprain with associated soft tissue injury, the Hawks announced. He suffered the injury in Friday’s game against the Bulls.

The team plans to re-evaluate Spellman’s condition in four weeks, which would force him to miss 14 of Atlanta’s remaining 19 games. If he requires additional recovery time, there’s a chance we won’t see him again this season.

Spellman is averaging 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 46 games this season.

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Hawks Sign B.J. Johnson To 10-Day Contract

March 1st, 2019 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 1: The signing is official, the Hawks announced in an email.

FEBRUARY 26: The Hawks will fill the final opening on their 15-man roster by signing G League shooting guard B.J. Johnson to a 10-day contract, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. According to Vivlamore, the club will make the move official later in the week.

Johnson, who went undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, joined the Magic for training camp and the preseason last fall, and then was waived by Orlando before the regular season began. He subsequently headed to the G League and has spent the 2018/19 campaign playing for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s affiliate.

In 37 games (30 starts) for Lakeland, Johnson has recorded 14.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .464/.426/.837.

Although the Hawks are carrying 14 players for now, Jordan Sibert‘s 10-day contract will expire this Friday night, so the club could open up a roster spot even after signing Johnson. Re-signing Sibert and officially adding Johnson would keep the 15-man squad full for the time being.

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Hawks Won’t Keep Jordan Sibert

March 1st, 2019 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks won’t re-sign Jordan Sibert after his 10-day contract expires today, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Sibert appeared in a single game during his time with Atlanta, playing four minutes against the Timberwolves on Wednesday. The 26-year-old went undrafted out of Dayton in 2015 and spent time playing in Greece and Germany.

The move will leave the Hawks with 13 players under contract, but they’ll get back up to 14 when they officially sign B.J. Johnson, whose deal was reported earlier this week.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/28/19

February 28th, 2019 at 9:33pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from across the NBA G League:

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Hawks Plan To Be Aggressive In Free Agency

February 28th, 2019 at 8:29pm CST by JD Shaw

Despite having a focus on their long-term future, the Hawks plan to be aggressive with top-tier free agents during the 2019 offseason, Sam Amick of The Athletic writes.

Atlanta currently sports a young core headlined by Trae Young and John Collins, a pairing that could intrigue star free agents. Players such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, Khris Middleton and DeMarcus Cousins are set to reach free agency on July 1, with each name a potential target for the youthful Hawks.

Atlanta holds the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference at 21-41, but the team will have roughly $41MM in cap space to work with this summer. As Amick notes, the franchise is armed with a promising young nucleus, a new head coach (Lloyd Pierce), and an upgraded arena and practice facility as it seeks meetings with some of the top available names on the market.

The Hawks have Dewayne Dedmon, Vince Carter and Justin Anderson as players who will become free agents this summer. Forward Kent Bazemore holds a player option for the 2019/20 season worth $19.2MM.

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Jaylen Adams Gets $100K Guarantee For Next Season

February 27th, 2019 at 8:31pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • The new contract that Jaylen Adams got from the Hawks includes a $100K guarantee on his $1.4MM salary for next season, tweets Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Adams was a two-way player until Atlanta promoted him to the 15-man roster last week.
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Eight 10-Day Deals To Expire By End Of Weekend

February 27th, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Several teams around the NBA signed new players last week in order to get back to the league-mandated roster minimum of 14 players after slipping below that number at the trade deadline. While those clubs are complying with NBA rules for the time being, many of them just signed players to 10-day contracts and will have to consider additional moves once those deals expire.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors’ 10-Day Contract Tracker]

At the moment, there are 11 active 10-day contracts around the league, with one more – B.J. Johnson to the Hawks – reported but not yet official. Eight of those 11 active deals are set to expire by the end of this weekend, so here’s a quick look at each of those situations:

February 27

  • Corey Brewer (Kings)
    • Brewer’s 10-day contract, his second with the Kings, will expire after Sacramento’s Tuesday matchup against Milwaukee. So, as of tomorrow, the team will have to decide whether to re-sign him for the rest of the season or let him go. If the Kings don’t bring back Brewer, who has appeared in two of their last three games, they’d be down to 13 players and would have two weeks to get back up to 14.

March 1

  • Henry Ellenson (Knicks)
    • Ellenson played a key role in the Knicks‘ comeback win over Orlando on Tuesday, filling the box score with 13 points, nine boards, five assists, and two steals. He’s still on his first 10-day deal, and the Knicks would dip to 13 players without him, so I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get a second contract from the club.
  • Jordan Sibert (Hawks)
    • The Hawks are reportedly poised to sign B.J. Johnson to a 10-day contract, which would keep them at 14 players even if they don’t bring back Sibert. Sibert has yet to play in a game for Atlanta, so it’s hard to get a sense of which way the team is leaning on a possible second 10-day deal.
  • Emanuel Terry (Heat)
    • The Heat are flirting with the luxury tax line, which is probably bad news for Terry. Miami figures to be very careful about not signing players earlier than they have to for the rest of the season, which means Terry may not be re-signed right away – or at all – once his first 10-day contract expires this Friday night.
  • Jodie Meeks (Raptors)
    • Meeks has come out firing in his first two games with the Raptors, putting up 13 shot attempts in just 24 minutes. Toronto’s production from beyond the arc has been inconsistent this season, so Meeks’ outside shot may earn him a longer look from the team. However, like Terry in Miami, he may not be re-signed immediately when his first 10-day contract expires, since the Raptors will want to do all they can to minimize their tax bill.

March 2

  • Ray Spalding (Suns)
    • For a lottery-bound team like the Suns, it makes sense to use their open roster spots to audition young prospects who might prove worthy of sticking around on next season’s team. It’s not clear if Spalding, who is on his first 10-day contract, fits that bill, since he hasn’t seen any action so far. If Phoenix doesn’t re-sign him, the roster count will be at 13 players, and the club would be required to add someone eventually.

March 3

  • Chris Chiozza / Terrence Jones (Rockets)
    • Like the Heat and Raptors, the Rockets are very aware of where their team salary is in relation to the tax line, and will likely avoid carrying more players than they have to. When Choizza’s and Jones’ deals expire on Sunday night, Houston may be happy to drop below the roster minimum for a little while again before getting back up to 14 later in the month.

The other three active 10-day contracts around the league belong to Isaiah Canaan (Bucks), Tahjere McCall (Nets), and Cameron Reynolds (Timberwolves). Those deals will run through March 6, March 7, and March 8, respectively.

Meanwhile, it’s also worth keeping an eye on the Thunder, who have been carrying 13 players since Scotty Hopson‘s and Richard Solomon‘s 10-day contracts expired on Saturday night. Oklahoma City projects to be the NBA’s biggest taxpayer this year, and will likely be patient when it comes to filling that 14th roster slot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Checking In On Protected 2019 First Round Picks

February 26th, 2019 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

With only about a month and a half left in the 2018/19 regular season, we’re getting a clearer picture of what this year’s draft order might look like. We’re also getting a clearer sense of which of the traded 2019 picks with protections will or won’t change hands this spring.

Using our 2018/19 Reverse Standings as a reference point, here’s our latest check-in on where things stand for those traded 2019 first-rounders, based on their protections.

Locks to change hands:

  • Kings‘ pick to Celtics or Sixers (unprotected)
    • Current projection: No. 14
  • Nuggets‘ pick to Nets (top-12 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 27
  • Raptors‘ pick to Spurs (top-20 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 29

The Nets and Spurs may not be thrilled by how well the Nuggets and Raptors are playing this season, since it assures those first-round picks will fall in the mid-to-late 20s. But Brooklyn and San Antonio can at least be confident that they’ll actually receive those selections this year, which will allow them to better prepare for the draft.

As for the Kings‘ pick, it will almost certainly end up with the Celtics, but the Sixers will still be keeping an eye on it — if Sacramento ends up in the lottery, there will be a very slim chance of that pick vaulting up to No. 1 overall. In that scenario, Philadelphia would receive it and Boston would instead get the 76ers’ first-rounder.

At this point, the far more likely scenario is the Sixers keeping their own pick and the Celtics getting a Kings pick in the teens.

Locks to be protected:

  • Cavaliers‘ pick to Hawks (top-10 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 3
  • Bucks‘ pick to Suns (top-3 and 17-30 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 30

The Cavaliers have been playing better lately, but there’s still essentially no way their pick will fall out of the top 10 — there are 13 games between Cleveland and Miami, the 10th team in the reverse standings. So the Cavs can rest assured that they’ll retain their 2019 first-rounder. Subsequently, they’ll owe the Hawks their top-10 protected 2020 first-round pick.

On the other end of the draft, it’s the Bucks‘ success this season that guarantees they’ll keep their selection. The pick they agreed to trade to Phoenix has unusual reverse-protection criteria that provides only a small window for the Suns to snatch it. Since that pick won’t change hands this season, the Bucks will owe the Suns their top-7 protected first-rounder in 2020.

Still up in the air:

  • Grizzlies‘ pick to Celtics (top-8 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 6
  • Mavericks‘ pick to Hawks (top-5 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 8
  • Clippers‘ pick to Celtics (top-14 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 19
  • Rockets‘ pick to Cavaliers (top-14 protected)
    • Current projection: No. 21

Of these picks, the Grizzlies‘ and Mavericks‘ selections are the most intriguing. Both project as top-10 picks, and neither has full top-10 protection. For now, Memphis appear likely to keep its pick rather than sending it to the Celtics, while the Hawks have a good chance to receive Dallas’ pick. That outlook could quickly change though, if the Grizzlies get on a hot streak and/or the Mavs slump.

It’s worth noting that the new lottery format could be a wild-card factor here. Let’s say the Grizzlies finish seventh in the reverse standings. In previous years, the likelihood that their pick would slide to ninth from that spot would be less than 2%. This year, those odds would increase to over 14%.

Similarly, suppose the Mavericks finish seventh in the reverse standings. Under the old system, the Hawks could be confident of receiving the Mavs’ selection, since Dallas would only have a 15% of moving up into the top three and retaining the pick. In the new system, those odds are all the way up to 32%.

Meanwhile, the Clippers and Rockets will surrender their first-rounders if they earn playoff spots. After some early-season struggles, Houston looks like a fairly safe postseason bet at this point, meaning the Cavaliers should be confident they’ll get the Rockets’ pick. The Clippers, who moved up to seventh in the West on Monday, are less certain of a spot, so the Celtics will be closely watching the playoff race.

Information from RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

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