Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Paul Millsap Says He’ll ‘Likely’ Opt Out

April 29th, 2017 at 1:52pm CST by Austin Kent

Less than a day after Atlanta’s exit from the postseason, Hawks forward Paul Millsap admitted that he’ll “most likely” opt out of his upcoming player option for the 2017/18 season, says Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

After making $20.1MM in 2016/17, Millsap will turn down the player option that would have paid him $21.5MM in 2017/18.

The 32-year-old was involved in a substantial amount of trade rumors and speculation this year but ultimately stayed in Atlanta where he helped guide the Hawks to their 10th consecutive playoff berth.

The Hawks appeared to be headed toward an inevitable rebuild before ultimately choosing to hang on to their cornerstone and risk losing him for nothing as opposed to dealing him for parts.

Although there is the possibility that Millsap ends up back in Atlanta, he’ll command considerable attention on the market after averaging 18.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Hawks.

Hawks Happy They Bet On Schroder; No Millsap Decision Yet

April 29th, 2017 at 10:35am CST by Austin Kent

Though they may have ultimately lost, Dennis Schroder‘s performance in the first round of the postseason shows just what the Hawks see in him, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. “Dennis’ competitive spirit and his competitive nature, I think we’re always going to bet on that first,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said.
It’s reasonable to expect Paul Millsap to opt out of his contract this summer but the Hawks forward hasn’t made any decisions about where he’ll go just yet, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
The Wizards won’t need a seventh game to close out the Hawks but even if they did, center Ian Mahinmi wouldn’t have played in it, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. The big man had said that he hoped he would be able to recover from a strained calf in time to play in the first round.

Draft Updates: Rabb, Boatwright, Ball, Diallo

April 28th, 2017 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

While our friends at Pro Football Rumors cover this week’s NFL draft, we’ve still got nearly two months until NBA draft day. However, that doesn’t mean there are no draft-related stories worth following in the NBA at the moment.

For instance, as Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets, each NBA team has now voted for its top 70 candidates for 2017’s draft combine, and the league figures to announce this year’s invitees next week. That list will be crucial for many prospects, especially for early entrants who are testing the draft waters — they don’t have to decide whether or not to withdraw until 10 days after the combine, so getting a chance to talk to and work out for NBA teams in Chicago could significantly impact those decisions.

Here are a few more 2017 NBA draft notes:

As expected, former Cal forward Ivan Rabb is staying in the draft. Rabb, who is viewed as a possible lottery pick, has agreed to hire Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management for representation, per Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
USC’s Bennie Boatwright, who had been testing the draft waters, announced (via a Twitter video) that he’ll head back to school for his junior year, removing his name from the draft pool.
Speaking to Shams Charania of The Vertical, top prospect Lonzo Ball said that – while he’d love to be drafted by the Lakers – he’s ready to play for any NBA club and is prepared for “the challenge of helping turn around any team in the league.”
A handful of NBA teams are doing their homework on Kentucky prospect Hamidou Diallo, who is testing the draft waters without an agent. As Adam Zagoria details at FanRagSports.com, Diallo’s former coach Andy Borman has fielded calls from the Spurs, Hawks, and Thunder, among other teams.
Sam Vecenie of Vice.com decries the practice of “concern trolling” when it comes to the high number of early entrants declaring for the draft. According to Vecenie, those early entrants are well aware that only 60 players are drafted each year, but many of them have their own personal reasons for exploring the possibility of going pro.

Hawks Owner Doesn't Second-Guess Deals; Schroder Playing Like Wall

April 27th, 2017 at 8:24pm CST by Austin Kent

Although it’s easy to second guess decision in the NBA, Hawks owner Tony Ressler is careful not to when it comes to his own club’s contracts, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “The NBA is all about second-guessing,” Ressler said. “[…] Listen at the end of the day I’m going to argue that if you look at our payroll this year, I think we did OK. We had a $98 million payroll. We won 43 games. We are in the middle of the playoffs. We are really competitive.“
In the postseason of his fourth campaign, Dennis Schroder is showing off just how dominant he can be. According to Hawks teammate Kent Bazemore, the 23-year-old’s playing style is eerily similar to that of Wizards guard (and current playoff opponent) John Wall‘s, Keely Diven of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. “[He] is un-guarable regardless of if he’s making shots or not. He is one of the quickest guys in the league. He can get by anyone. He is a great finisher around the rim. He is growing, a young guard. He has a bright future ahead of him. Glad he’s my point guard. I would hate to guard that guy for 35 minutes.“

Poll: Which 2-2 Series Will End In Upset?

April 25th, 2017 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Last year’s NBA Finals combatants, the Cavaliers and Warriors, made quick work of their first round playoff opponents, dispatching the Pacers and Trail Blazers respectively in four games apiece. However, many of the other first round series around the NBA remain very much up in the air.

Currently, four series are tied at 2-2, with two of those Game Fives scheduled for tonight, and two more on tap for Wednesday. The Clippers and Jazz have each split their home games, resulting in a 2-2 tie, while the No. 7 seeded Grizzlies won two home games over the Spurs following David Fizdale‘s post-Game 2 “take that for data” rant, pulling even in that series. Those four teams will be in action tonight.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seeded Celtics find themselves tied with the No. 8 Bulls in an unusual series in which road teams are 4-0 so far. Meanwhile, the Hawks ripped through the Wizards‘ defense in two games in Atlanta, evening that series at 2-2. Both of those series will resume on Wednesday.

In each of those four series, the higher seed maintains the advantage, with two of the final three games on their home court. But most of those higher seeds don’t look as formidable as they did entering the postseason.

What do you think? Will any of these series result in upsets? If the Jazz are able to knock off the Clippers, should that series even be viewed as a legit upset, given the absence of Blake Griffin and the teams’ identical regular season records?

Vote below on which lower seeds will make it through the first round — you can pick as many as you want. After placing your vote, share your thoughts in the comments section!

Hawks Will Try Hard To Keep Millsap

April 23rd, 2017 at 12:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Re-signing free agent forward Paul Millsap will be an offseason priority for the Hawks, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The 31-year-old has been with Atlanta for the past four seasons, making the All-Star team in each one. He’s coming off a career-best scoring year at 18.1 points per game, along with 7.7 rebounds and a career-high 3.7 assists. “We are going to make every effort imaginable to keep him,” said Hawks owner Tony Ressler.

Dwight Howard Signs With Agent Andy Miller

April 16th, 2017 at 8:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Hawks center Dwight Howard, who was previously represented by Perry Rogers, has signed with ASM Sports and will be repped by agent Andy Miller going forward, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Howard remains under contract with Atlanta for two more years after this season, so he won’t be signing a new deal anytime soon.

Magic Rumors: G. Hill, Wright, Cousins, Hennigan

April 13th, 2017 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after the Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan this morning, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reported that team officials have interest in pursuing Grant Hill as a potential president of basketball operations. Marc Stein of ESPN.com confirms Orlando’s interest in Hill, but tweets that the former Magic forward currently has no plans to leave the Hawks‘ ownership group.

As we wait to see if Hill’s stance changes, here are several more Magic-related notes, with a focus on today’s front office shakeup:

Spurs assistant GM Brian Wright is on the Magic‘s preliminary list of potential GM candidates, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski also notes that the leaked white board that went viral last week ultimately didn’t affect Orlando’s decision to replace Hennigan — the team had already decided to move on from him at that point.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated and Sam Amick of USA Today expressed surprise that the Magic dismissed assistant GM Scott Perry along with Hennigan (Twitter links). Both reporters note that the two men had different voices in the front office, suggesting that Perry would have likely been able to complete a trade for DeMarcus Cousins if Hennigan had been on board with it.
Although Hennigan didn’t have a ton of success in Orlando, he remains widely respected around the NBA and will likely have “attractive offers” to choose from when he looks for a new job, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
In non-Hennigan news, the Magic‘s D-League affiliate, which will begin play next season, will be called the Lakeland Magic, as Robbins details for The Sentinel.

Wizards’ Ian Mahinmi To Miss Start Of Playoffs

April 12th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards will be without a key bench piece when their first-round series against the Hawks gets underway this weekend, reports Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. According to Buckner, veteran center Ian Mahinmi is dealing with a strained left calf, and will miss the team’s regular season finale, in addition to the start of the postseason.

Mahinmi, who sustained the injury on Monday, underwent an MRI that revealed some swelling. While Washington’s playoff schedule hasn’t yet been announced, the team intends to re-evaluate Mahinmi in seven to 10 days, so even if he’s ready to get back on the court at that point, he’d likely miss the first two or three games of the first round.

It’s a disappointing setback for Mahinmi, whose first season with the Wizards after signing a four-year, $64MM deal last summer has been marred by injuries. Although knee problems kept the 30-year-old out of action for most of the first half of the season, he had played well off the bench for Washington over the last couple months, averaging 5.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.1 SPG in 31 regular season contests (17.9 MPG).

“We’ll definitely miss Ian because he was actually playing his best basketball, defensively he was giving us a very good rim protector and pick-and-roll player,” Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said. “I’m still confident in the group. We’ll still play hard and play well.”

With Mahinmi out, the Wizards may lean more heavily on starting center Marcin Gortat, with players like Markieff Morris and Jason Smith spelling him as needed.

Hawks Name Malik Rose GM Of NBADL Affiliate

April 11th, 2017 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks announced today in a press release that front office executive Malik Rose has been promoted and will serve as the general manager of Atlanta’s new D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks. The BayHawks had been Orlando’s NBADL affiliate this past season, but the Hawks will assume control of the Erie club when the Magic introduce a new Lakeland affiliate in 2017/18.