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Hawks Exercise 2024/25 Options On Johnson, Griffin

October 22nd, 2023 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have exercised their rookie scale team options for the 2024/25 season on forward Jalen Johnson and guard AJ Griffin, the team announced in a press release.

The moves had been expected, given the relatively modest cost of Johnson’s and Griffin’s ’24/25 option salaries. Johnson’s fourth-year option is worth $4,510,905, while Griffin will earn $3,889,920 in his third NBA season. Those salaries are now fully guaranteed.

Johnson, who will turn 22 in December, emerged as a regular rotation player for Atlanta in 2022/23, averaging 5.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 14.9 minutes per game across 70 appearances. He’s expected to take on a more prominent role this fall following the offseason trade of John Collins.

Exercising Johnson’s fourth-year option means the Hawks will have the ability to sign him to a rookie scale extension next summer. If he doesn’t sign a new deal at that point, the former Duke standout will become eligible for restricted free agency in 2025.

As for Griffin, he had a promising rookie year that saw him average 8.9 PPG on .465/.390/.894 shooting in 72 games (19.5 MPG). Another ex-Blue Devil, the 20-year-old has a fourth-year option worth $5,967,137 for the 2025/26 season — Atlanta will have to decide by next October 31 whether to pick it up.

The full list of 2024/25 rookie scale team options decisions can be found right here.

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Jalen Johnson Enjoying Strong Camp, Preseason

October 17th, 2023 at 7:56am CST by Luke Adams
  • Third-year forward Jalen Johnson has been one of the Hawks‘ most impressive players in training camp and the preseason, says Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscription required). Johnson improved defensively last season and has shown off his versatility on the offensive end this fall, Williams notes, averaging 4.0 assists per game in the preseason and making 60% of his three-point tries. After coming off the bench in 86 of his first 92 NBA games, Johnson is a good candidate to join Atlanta’s starting five this season — he has started three of four preseason contests.
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Hawks Sign, Waive David Singleton

October 14th, 2023 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 14: As expected, Singleton’s stint on Atlanta’s roster was short-lived. The Hawks issued a press release today announcing that he has been waived.

OCTOBER 13: The Hawks have signed rookie free agent guard David Singleton, the team announced today in a press release.

The agreement was reported shortly after June’s draft and is finally official, nearly four months later. According to that June report, Singleton’s contract is an Exhibit 10 deal.

Singleton, who went undrafted out of UCLA earlier this year, played with the Bruins for five seasons, making 43.4% of his three-pointers during that time. He averaged 9.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per contest across 37 appearances this past season, then joined the Hawks for Summer League, appearing in a couple games in Las Vegas.

The Hawks have 15 players on guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals, so their roster appears pretty set for the regular season. That means Singleton will likely be waived in the coming days and then report to the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate. If he spends at least 60 days with the Skyhawks, he would receive an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $75K.

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2023/24 NBA Over/Unders: Southeast Division

October 13th, 2023 at 10:29am CST by Luke Adams

With the 2023/24 NBA regular season around the corner, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.

With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including Bovada and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.

In 2022/23, our voters went 16-14 on their over/under picks. Can you top that in ’23/24?

We’ll keep our series going today with the Southeast Division…

Miami Heat

Atlanta Hawks

Orlando Magic

Charlotte Hornets

Washington Wizards

Previous voting results:

Northwest

  • Denver Nuggets (53.5 wins): Over (52.0%)
  • Minnesota Timberwolves (44.5 wins): Over (53.1%)
  • Oklahoma City Thunder (44.5 wins): Under (53.6%)
  • Utah Jazz (35.5 wins): Over (55.5%)
  • Portland Trail Blazers (28.5 wins): Under (50.9%)

Central

  • Milwaukee Bucks (54.5 wins): Over (76.9%)
  • Cleveland Cavaliers (50.5 wins): Under (52.0%)
  • Indiana Pacers (38.5 wins): Over (64.1%)
  • Chicago Bulls (37.5 wins): Under (61.9%)
  • Detroit Pistons (27.5 wins): Over (53.8%)

Southwest

  • Memphis Grizzlies (46.5 wins): Under (52.1%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans (44.5 wins): Under (60.8%)
  • Dallas Mavericks (44.5 wins): Under (50.3%)
  • Houston Rockets (31.5 wins): Over (59.2%)
  • San Antonio Spurs (28.5 wins): Over (54.4%)
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Northwest Notes: Collins, Dunn, Adelman, Milton

October 10th, 2023 at 10:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

John Collins admits the constant trade rumors he endured during his time with the Hawks wore on him mentally, he told Sarah Todd of the Deseret News.

“It definitely didn’t help,” he said. “It made me think that I was doing something wrong. A little lost. I thought I’d been doing things right, leading in my way, helping in the community, being a part of the team and impacting things. Even through everything, especially with the contract I was able to earn, I thought I was moving toward something longstanding.”

Collins looks at this season with the Jazz as more than just a fresh start. He has noticed a different vibe in Utah’s locker room.

“To be successful in this league, you’ve got to think about yourself in a certain way,” he said. “But here, there’s that essence of wanting to win together, regardless of how good anyone is individually. It’s refreshing to be in a locker room with a lack of ego and I’m happy to be part of it.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Kris Dunn‘s future with the Jazz remains cloudy but he certainly didn’t hurt his cause in the preseason opener, Todd notes in a separate story. Dunn finished with 15 points, five assists, two steals and made all seven of his field goal attempts. Dunn’s $2.59MM salary will become guaranteed if he’s on the opening night roster.
  • David Adelman coached the Nuggets against the Suns on Tuesday, Katy Winge of Altitude TV tweets. Michael Malone is not with the team following the death of his father, longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone.
  • Shake Milton appears to be settling on the Timberwolves’ second unit behind Mike Conley and Anthony Edwards. Milton, who scored 12 points in the team’s preseason opener, will be looked upon for scoring with that unit, as well as being a trustworthy play-maker and pick-and-roll partner with Rudy Gobert, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. “We’ve talked a lot about him internally and been so happy and surprised, even better than we thought he could be,” coach Chris Finch said. Milton left the Sixers and signed a two-year, $10MM deal with Minnesota at the start of free agency.
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Hawks Sign, Waive Brandon Randolph

October 10th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

5:15pm: The Hawks have waived Randolph, according to another press release from the club.

2:33pm: The Hawks have signed guard Brandon Randolph, the team announced today in a press release.

While the club didn’t reveal any details about the agreement, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks tweets that it’s a non-guaranteed training camp contract. It likely includes Exhibit 10 language, as most camp deals do.

Randolph, who went undrafted out of Arizona in 2019, has spent most of the last few seasons playing in the G League. In 43 regular season and Showcase Cup games last season for the Wisconsin Herd and Austin Spurs, he averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 27.7 minutes per contest, posting a solid shooting line of .505/.351/.788.

The College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s G League affiliate, acquired Randolph’s rights from Austin in August. That deal and today’s signing are strong indicators that the Skyhawks plan on having him on their roster as a returning rights player this fall.

Atlanta now has 19 players under contract, two below the preseason limit.

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Hoping Camp Lessons Translate To Preseason Games

October 9th, 2023 at 3:58pm CST by Rory Maher
  • The Hawks and Quin Snyder are still learning from each other in the head coach’s first training camp with the team, but veteran guard Patty Mills says things have gone well so far. The next step is transitioning from practices to preseason games, per Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (subscriber link). “I think that’s where we want to see the carry-over,” Mills said. “You know, we can do it perfectly in practice and at a slower pace, but you get game speed, game action, live looks in a real game and that’s where we want to see the carryover. So I think it comes at a perfect time with how we’re moving forward with a lot of the stuff. So bring on the games and let’s do what we’ve been practicing and doing such a great job of in an actual game.”
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Jarkel Joiner, Keaton Wallace Waived By Hawks

October 8th, 2023 at 3:41pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Training camp invitees Jarkel Joiner and Keaton Wallace have been waived by the Hawks, Atlanta announced in a press release.

Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that the two guards seem likely to next suit up with Atlanta’s NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.

Wallace spent most of his 2022/23 season with the Clippers’ G league affiliate, the Ontario Clippers. Across 49 NBAGL contests, he averaged 13.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals with a shooting line of .463/.382/.745.

Joiner went undrafted out of North Carolina State this summer. During his final NCAA season in 2022/23, the 6’1″ guard averaged 17.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.3 SPG en route to a second-team All-ACC selection.

As Exhibit 10 signings, Joiner and Wallace will be eligible for bonuses worth up to $75K, should they remain with the Skyhawks for at least 60 days.

The Hawks’ preseason roster has now been trimmed to 18 players, with all 15 standard roster spots and all three two-way spots currently occupied.

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Okongwu Working To Expand Offensive Arsenal

October 6th, 2023 at 5:27pm CST by Rory Maher
  • The Hawks are working with fourth-year center Onyeka Okongwu to expand his offensive arsenal, as Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays (subscriber link). “Some of the things that he’s working on, whether it’s a corner three or dribble handoff, taking the ball and driving, there’s some situations he’s in, they’re new to him, but he’s also very capable in those situations,” head coach Quin Snyder said. “I mean, when you see him, drive baseline, throw a left-hand pass along the baseline, he can do that stuff. It’s just got to become instinctive and that takes time but he’s putting in the work.” Okongwu is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 23, the day before the regular season begins.
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Southeast Notes: Preview, Kuzma, Poole, Avdija, Magic

October 2nd, 2023 at 9:25pm CST by Rory Maher

David Alridge, Eric Nehm and Josh Robbins of The Athletic recently previewed the Southeast Division. Both Aldridge and Robbins think the Wizards overhauling their front office was the most impactful move a Southeast team made this offseason, while Nehm thought the Hornets showing confidence in LaMelo Ball by giving him a max extension was arguably the biggest move.

As for decisions that might backfire, Aldridge questions the Magic selecting Anthony Black sixth overall in June’s draft. He wonders where another point guard will fit into Orlando’s rotation, especially one with a shaky jump shot on a team in need of floor spacing.

Nehm believes the Hawks might regret trading John Collins, as he’s a firm believer in the power forward’s talent and wonders if he was the right player to move. As for Robbins, he thinks the Heat got worse by not making a major trade while losing Max Strus and Gabe Vincent in free agency.

The three writers also chose breakout candidates for the division, with Aldridge selecting Hornets forward Miles Bridges, Nehm picking Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Robbins going for Magic point guard Markelle Fultz.

Here’s more from the Southeast:

  • How can Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole become All-Stars in 2023/24? Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network explores that topic, writing that the two Wizards will have to increase their scoring averages to 25-plus points per game, lead the team to a winning record at the All-Star break, and improve their statistics in non-scoring categories.
  • There were rumors during the summer that Wizards forward Deni Avdija was dealing with a hip injury. However, head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said Avdija will be a full participant in training camp. “He looks strong,” Unseld said, according to Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I think he had a tremendous summer.”
  • Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel lists five Magic storylines ahead of training camp. Can reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero improve his scoring efficiency and defense? Will the team attempt more shots and become more accurate from three-point range? Those are two of the questions posed by Beede.
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