Hawks Rumors

Hunter Targeted In Gobert Talks With Jazz

The Hawks have been identified in previous reports as a possible Rudy Gobert suitor, and multiple league sources have indicated the Jazz are interested in De’Andre Hunter, according to Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com. Hunter is extension-eligible this offseason. However, according to Moore, the Hawks have tried to steer any teams inquiring on Hunter to players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter instead.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Draft Notes: J. Smith, Magic, Holmgren, Mohammed, Duren

Auburn forward Jabari Smith, a projected top-three pick, worked out for the Magic on Thursday, reports Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter video link). The Magic hold the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and Smith has been linked to Orlando multiple times.

Smith believes he’d be a good fit for a young Magic team, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays.

I think I can fit in it really well,” Smith said. “Seeing the guys and seeing the players, this is a young team, one of the youngest in the league. So, adding me would just add another young player who was hungry and got a lot left in the tank. So, I’ll add some energy and just another person wants to come in and work and get this organization where it needs to be.”

Smith added that his strong two-way play and drive to win separates him from the other top prospects.

I just think it’s my will to win that sets me apart,” Smith said, per Reynolds. “I don’t really care about stats and glamour and all that. I just want to really win and play to win every game.”

Smith also said he has an upcoming workout with the Thunder, who control the No. 2 pick, but has no other workouts planned, Reynolds writes. Smith’s full post-workout media session can be found right here.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren, another projected top-three pick, has a workout scheduled with the Magic next week, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (via Twitter).
  • Georgetown’s Aminu Mohammed has worked out for the Nets, Hawks, Spurs and Bulls, and has upcoming workouts with the Kings and Trail Blazers, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mohammed also worked out for the Wizards on Wednesday, as we previously relayed.
  • Memphis center Jalen Duren, who is one of the youngest players in the draft after graduating from high school a year early, believes he’s ready for the NBA, writes Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com. “I wouldn’t have made this jump if I didn’t feel like I was ready mentally, physically or skill-wise. I mean, where I’m at, I love the challenge, that’s why I decided to go to college early. It was a great challenge, it helped me develop,” Duren said. The 18-year-old had a solo workout for Portland earlier this week and is a projected lottery pick.

Draft Notes: Hardy, Braun, Roddy, Pistons, Ivey

Speaking to reporters after working out for Washington on Tuesday, G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy said he has already worked out for the Warriors, Bucks, Timberwolves, and Thunder, and has auditions on tap with the Hawks, Hornets, Mavericks, and Pelicans (Twitter link via Josh Robbins of The Athletic). Viewed as a good bet to be a first-round pick, Hardy currently ranks 22nd overall on ESPN’s big board.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Kansas shooting guard Christian Braun, the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s board, has worked out for the Bucks, Clippers, and Magic, and had a visit scheduled with the Grizzlies this week, tweets Andrew Lind. Those four teams each have at least one pick between No. 22 and No. 43 in this year’s draft.
  • Colorado State forward David Roddy, ESPN’s No. 46 prospect, had a meet and greet with Nuggets staffers a month ago and was brought back for a workout with the team on Tuesday, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. Asked if he senses interest from the Nuggets, Roddy replied, “I would say so. Everybody’s a fan of my game here. They’ve told me that.” Roddy has also worked out for several other teams, including the Warriors and Raptors, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link).
  • David Aldridge of The Athletic spoke to a handful of coaches and executives at the college and NBA levels to get their thoughts on several of the top guards in the 2022 draft class, including Jaden Ivey, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Johnny Davis, and several others. One Eastern Conference executive told Aldridge that he knows the Pistons – who hold the No. 5 overall pick – “love” Ivey.

Southeast Notes: Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Wizards

The Hornets hosted a pre-draft workout with six prospects on Monday, the team tweets. That group included Keon Ellis (Alabama), Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite), Kellan Grady (Kentucky), Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers), Brandon Horvath (Utah State) and Žiga Samar (Fuenlabrada/Spain).

We have more from the Southeast Division:

Blazers Rumors: Beal, LaVine, Bridges, Grant, Collins

The Trail Blazers are exploring the trade market in search of veterans who can help Damian Lillard get the team back into the playoffs, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who observes that Portland has a handful of assets in hand to offer up in possible deals.

Besides the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, the Blazers also have a trade exception worth nearly $21MM, Josh Hart and his team-friendly contract, Eric Bledsoe‘s expiring deal (Bledsoe’s partial guarantee could be increased as needed for salary-matching purposes), future draft picks, and possibly Jusuf Nurkic as a sign-and-trade candidate.

Here’s more from O’Connor on the players Portland could go after this summer:

  • Sources tell The Ringer that free-agents-to-be Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine are potential Blazers targets, though it’s unclear if they’ll be willing to leave the Wizards and Bulls, respectively, for Portland. Lillard and Beal are friends who played together for Team USA, O’Connor notes.
  • Hornets restricted free agent forward Miles Bridges is a player worth keeping an eye on for the Blazers, sources tell O’Connor. The team is in the market for a big wing who can help on defense and be a secondary offensive play-maker, and Bridges fits the bill. Again though, it remains to be seen if Portland will be able to pry away Bridges from his current team, especially since Charlotte will be able to match any offer sheet.
  • Pistons forward Jerami Grant is another two-way wing frequently mentioned as a target for Portland, as O’Connor observes. In his latest Substack article, Marc Stein writes that the Hawks continue to register interest in Grant, but the Blazers would likely be able to outbid Atlanta and other Grant suitors if they’re willing to include the No. 7 pick in their offer.
  • Hawks big man John Collins is also frequently cited as a player on the Blazers’ radar, according to O’Connor, who suggests Collins would be more of a lob threat – and more versatile defensively – than Nurkic.

Northwest Notes: Snyder, Trail Blazers, Sochan, Washington

Coach Quin Snyder’s differences with the Jazz are about more than money, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said in an appearance on the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast. An ESPN report this week stated that Snyder and the team haven’t been able to reach an agreement on a contract extension, and MacMahon clarified that it’s not because the team is unwilling to make a competitive offer.

“There’s an extension offered that’s still on the table,” MacMahon said. “I don’t have exact terms of it, but it would put him up there with the highest-paid coaches in the NBA. It’s an offer that is reflective of the quality of his work.”

The Jazz are also providing Snyder with the choice of continuing under his current contract, which runs through the end of next season and gives him an option for the 2023/24 season, and working things out year by year. MacMahon adds that his “informed speculation” is that Snyder will leave the team at some point this offseason and will likely take a year off from coaching.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The timing of the ESPN story this week could have been a strategy to push negotiations toward a conclusion, speculates Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. He adds that the issues involved likely center around whether the Jazz plan to remain a contender or embark on a rebuilding project. Larsen also believes there are talks about whether Snyder will officially be given a say in front office decisions and how much control management will have over the day-to-day operations of the team.
  • Although the Trail Blazers aren’t currently for sale, the team could wind up being auctioned off because it is part of the Paul G. Allen Trust, which is being managed by his sister, Jody Allen, tweets Scott Soshnick of Sportico. Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky recently submitted a bid of more than $2 billion for the team.
  • Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan had a pre-draft workout with the Thunder today, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Kentucky point TyTy Washington had a session with the Thunder on Friday and will work out for the Hawks on Sunday, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog (Twitter link). OKC owns three first-round picks and may be considering both players at No. 12.

Central Notes: LaVine, Pacers, Pistons Lottery Pick, Bucks Offseason

What would it take for teams without cap room to ink Zach LaVine and engineer a sign-and-trade? Evan Sidery of Basketball News takes a look at several potential trades in which LaVine winds up with the Heat, Hawks or Mavericks. In the Hawks’ case, Sidery speculates that a three-way deal in which the Bulls receive Kevin Huerter and Onyeka Okongwu and the Pacers get Danilo Gallinari and a 2023 first-round pick from the Hawks might work.

We have more on the Central Division:

  • The Pacers will work out six draft prospects on Monday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. That group includes Teddy Allen (New Mexico State), Terrell Brown Jr. (Washington), Max Christie (Michigan State), Ryan Rollins (Toledo), Peyton Watson (UCLA) and Kok Yat (Overtime Elite).
  • Would the Pistons move off the No. 5 spot in the lottery for three first-round selections? Keith Langlois of Pistons.com believes if the Spurs offered the No. 9, 20 and 25 picks, Detroit might go along with it. The draft is deep enough that adding three first-rounders would bring more value that the No. 5 pick alone, in Langlois’ assessment.
  • The Bucks may have as many as five roster holes to fill and The Athletic’s Eric Nehm takes a comprehensive look at how they’ll approach the offseason and what kinds of free agents they might target.

Draft Notes: 2022 Mocks, J. Davis, Montero

In the most recent update to their 2022 NBA mock draft, BasketballNews.com has G League Ignite guard/forward Dyson Daniels, who has been rising up draft boards of late, going to Indiana at No. 6, and fellow G League Ignite players MarJon Beauchamp and Jaden Hardy go off the board at Nos. 21 and 23, respectively.

Ohio State’s Malaki Branham, another draft riser, goes to Oklahoma City at No. 12. The mock has three Duke players going in the lottery, which has been pretty common lately. A fourth, Trevor Keels, is the final pick of the first round, and a fifth, Wendell Moore Jr., is at No. 37.

Michigan’s Caleb Houstan, who is rumored to have received a first-round promise, goes to Memphis at No. 29.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

  • Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis has been projected to go to the Wizards at No. 10 in several recent mock drafts, including BasketballNews’, and he had a solo workout in front of all of Washington’s major decision-makers on Thursday. He told Josh Robbins of The Athletic that he thinks he’d be a good fit with the Wizards. “Especially with the projections and all that right now, I feel like this is a spot I could land at and be able to come in and make an impact right away,” Davis said. “I just wanted to be able to show the whole front office and the coaches that I can hoop.” Davis also told Robbins that he has workouts next week with the Pistons (No. 5) and the Spurs (No. 9).
  • Overtime Elite guard Jean Montero, who recently worked out for the Hornets and Wizards, has upcoming workouts with the Cavaliers, Hawks, Timberwolves, Grizzlies, and Bulls, Robbins tweets. Montero is a projected second-round pick, and all of those teams except Chicago currently control at least one second-rounder.
  • The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline passed on June 1, so Rafael Barlowe of NBA Big Board updated all of his projected second-round picks following last-minute decisions from several prospects.

2022 NBA Offseason Preview: Atlanta Hawks

Following a head coaching change and a second half surge in 2020/21, the Hawks made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, increasing expectations for the 2021/22 season.

The team struggled to meet those expectations early in the year and ended up nearly replicating the pattern of their previous season. In ’20/21, Atlanta followed up a 14-20 start with a 27-11 finish. In ’21/22, a 17-25 start preceded a 26-14 finish.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Eastern Conference was far more competitive in 2022 than it was a year earlier, and even after winning a pair of play-in games, they ran into a less favorable first-round playoff matchup this time around. The Heat’s defense forced Trae Young into perhaps the worst offensive stretch of his NBA career, and Atlanta didn’t have enough other weapons to make it a competitive series, falling in five games.

Now, the front office will have to figure out way to upgrade the capped-out roster and raise the Hawks’ ceiling going forward.


The Hawks’ Offseason Plan:

Many NBA owners and executives will only speak in platitudes when discussing potential offseason moves, talking about wanting to re-sign their own free agents and build continuity. Hawks owner Tony Ressler and president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk have taken an entirely different approach so far this spring, telling reporters and radio hosts that changes are coming to this roster and not everyone will be back.

While that doesn’t mean the Hawks won’t try to re-sign any of their free agents, it seems like a safe bet that the agents for Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Gorgui Dieng, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Kevin Knox are prepared to seek out new homes for their clients.

Beyond that, even several players who are under contract for next season shouldn’t feel too comfortable that they’ll be back in Atlanta. Young is believed to be the only Hawk who is truly untouchable in trade discussions, though the team presumably won’t be eager to move players like John Collins, Onyeka Okongwu, or De’Andre Hunter.

Still, that leaves a handful of intriguing trade candidates who could be on the table if the Hawks look to make a play for a star or simply want to make personnel changes. Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Kevin Huerter are all under contract for multiple seasons and are earning between $14-19MM — none are great bargains, but they’re far from albatrosses.

The appeal of Danilo Gallinari‘s $5MM partial guarantee is negated by the fact that the Hawks would almost certainly have to increase it to make him a useful trade chip, but even if his $21.45MM salary is fully guaranteed, his expiring contract makes him a logical salary-matching piece in a number of hypothetical trades.

So what will the Hawks be looking for in trades? Rather than addressing a specific position, improving the team’s defense figures to be the number one priority. That could mean pursuing a rim-protecting center like Rudy Gobert, who would be an upgrade over Capela. It could mean going after a two-way wing like Jerami Grant, who could help slow down the Kevin Durants and Jimmy Butlers of the Eastern Conference. Or it could mean seeking out a guard like Malcolm Brogdon, who can play off the ball and help shield Young from the most challenging defensive assignments.

Even though the Hawks project to be well over the cap, free agency also shouldn’t be ruled out as a potential path for a significant upgrade. Atlanta has enough flexibility below the luxury tax line and enough expendable contracts to realistically be a player for top sign-and-trade candidates.

However, some of the most noteworthy free agents who have been linked to Atlanta, including Zach LaVine, wouldn’t help much on the defensive end, and many – like LaVine and Deandre Ayton – would come with base year compensation complications due to their modest 2021/22 salaries.

The mid-level exception will be a more realistic tool for the Hawks to land a rotation player on the free agent market. Versatile defenders like Gary Payton II, Bruce Brown, Victor Oladipo, Kyle Anderson, P.J. Tucker, and Nicolas Batum would be realistic targets using the MLE.

Finally, the No. 16 pick in this month’s draft would be another asset for the Hawks to use on the trade market if they’re not in love with the idea of bringing in a rookie who may not be ready to play rotation minutes right away. If they do keep the pick, they could again prioritize defensive versatility and take a long look at players like Jeremy Sochan and/or Tari Eason, assuming they’re still on the board.

Atlanta’s best candidate for an offseason extension is Hunter, who has battled injuries in his first three NBA seasons and didn’t take a real step forward in 2021/22, but has flashed intriguing upside on both ends of the court when healthy — he put up 35 points and 11 rebounds in Game 5 vs. the Heat. If the Hawks can get him locked in at a team-friendly rate (perhaps a deal similar to Huerter’s), they should jump at the opportunity, but otherwise it may be prudent to see what he does in year four and wait for restricted free agency.


Salary Cap Situation

Note: Our salary cap figures are based on the league’s latest projection ($122MM) for 2022/23.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Danilo Gallinari ($16,450,000) 2
  • Total: $16,450,000

Restricted Free Agents

Two-Way Free Agents

Draft Picks

  • No. 16 overall pick ($3,488,760)
  • No. 44 overall pick (no cap hold)
  • Total: $3,488,760

Extension-Eligible Players

Note: These are players who are either already eligible for an extension or will become eligible before the 2022/23 season begins.

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic (veteran)
  • Danilo Gallinari (veteran)
  • De’Andre Hunter (rookie scale)

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

The Hawks will be well over the cap and are approaching luxury tax territory, even if they part ways with Gallinari. If we assume Atlanta waives Gallinari and stretches his partial guarantee across three years, keeps its first-round pick, and lets all its free agents go, the team would be on the hook for about $135.5MM for nine players.

The luxury tax line projects to be at $149MM, so the Hawks could fill out their roster and remain below the tax. But they wouldn’t be able to make full use of the mid-level exception without becoming a taxpayer, unless they shed some salary elsewhere.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $10,349,000 3
  • Bi-annual exception: $4,050,000 3
  • Trade exception: $1,782,621
  • Trade exception: $1,669,178

Footnotes

  1. Young’s salary will be worth 30% of the salary cap. If the cap ends up above or below $122MM, this figure will be adjusted upward or downward.
  2. Gallinari’s salary will become fully guaranteed after June 29.
  3. These are projected values. If the Hawks approach or cross the tax line, they may not have access to the full mid-level exception and/or bi-annual exception and would instead be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($6,392,000).

Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post.

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