Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Owner Ressler Promises Roster Changes

May 5th, 2022 at 7:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks plan to shake things up this offseason after standing relatively pat last summer. That’s what owner Tony Ressler told the media, including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, on Thursday.

Ressler felt the team’s brass may have read too much into the surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, which is why the roster looked much the same this season.

“I think we should have tried to get better rather than bring back what we had,” Ressler said. “That won’t happen again. It was a mistake, in my opinion at least.”

President of basketball operations Travis Schlenk made similar comments during a radio interview earlier this week.

Here are few more notable points from Ressler’s press conference:

The Hawks’ roster moves will be made with an eye toward finding more creators on offense and better defenders, particularly on the perimeter. “Getting more folks who could handle the ball, create and more defensive-oriented players — or both — that’s an obvious answer,” Ressler said. “When I talk to Travis and (assistant GM) Landry (Fields) about this very subject, which you could imagine happens frequently, I think their view is the league is complicated. You have to use the free-agent view, you have to use the draft, you have to use the development of the players — and, frankly, the availability of what’s out there will determine the decisions we make.”
Ressler is willing to make the Hawks a taxpaying team, as long as it makes sense to spend for a perennial contender. Ressler has told Schlenk he’s willing to go over the luxury tax threshold as early as next season. “We’re going to pay what we have to pay,” he said. “Sometimes owners set a tone — and I’m trying to set a very clear tone — sometimes we say some things one season that may not pertain to the next. Going into the tax doesn’t scare us. … Our job is to go into the tax when it’s good business, to position ourselves for greatness.”
Ressler isn’t thinking about a coaching or front office change. “Between Travis, Landry and Nate (McMillan), we have a hell of a team in our front office and coaching staff,” Ressler said. “I have enormous confidence in all of those folks.” However, he felt complacency seeped in throughout the roster and organization. “That’s what this season told me,” he said. “The idea that you have complacency before you win a championship — maybe after we win a championship, I’ll take a breath. We’re not going to have complacency again at any level.”

Hawks Notes: Offseason Priorities, Draft Workouts, More

May 4th, 2022 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on 92.9 The Game in Atlanta, Hawks president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said, unprompted, that the front office is committed this offseason to making roster changes in an attempt to improve the team after standing relatively pat a year ago.

“We made the decision last year to kind of run the same group back and we probably should’ve tried to upgrade as opposed to stay status quo,” Schlenk said. “This year, the way the season ended and played out, we’re certainly going to try to upgrade the roster moving forward into next season.”

Asked specifically about how much turnover the Hawks’ roster could experience, Schlenk suggested the club won’t be looking to re-sign all of its free agents.

“We have some guys that are free agents, we have some guys that have contract situations. We’ve got a guy eligible for a contract extension,” Schlenk said. “All that stuff plays into it. Every year, the only thing that’s really consistent in this league is change, so we anticipate that there will be some change, certainly with some of our free agents as we look to upgrade our roster.”

Delon Wright, Lou Williams, Gorgui Dieng, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Kevin Knox, and Skylar Mays will be free agents this offseason, while Danilo Gallinari has a small partial guarantee on his salary for 2022/23 and De’Andre Hunter will be eligible for a rookie scale extension.

Here’s more on the Hawks:

Schlenk said during his appearance on 92.9 The Game that the Hawks’ defense was a “big letdown” in 2021/22 and will be an area the club looks to address in the offseason. Schlenk added that having another reliable secondary ball-handler and shot creator to relieve the pressure on Trae Young will be a priority.
The Hawks announced in a press release that they’ve brought in 12 prospects this week, hosting six for a group workout on Monday and another half-dozen on Wednesday. Justin Bean (Utah State), Darius Days (LSU), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Gaige Prim (Missouri State), Will Richardson (Oregon), and Cole Swider (Syracuse) were in earlier this week, while Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech), Garrison Brooks (Mississippi State), Jamal Cain (Oakland), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Allen Flanigan (Auburn), and Jaden Shackelford (Alabama) were part of today’s pre-draft workout.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic examines 10 offseason questions facing the Hawks, including whether team owner Tony Ressler is willing to go into luxury-tax territory, whether the team can attract a second star, and what level of pressure head coach Nate McMillan is under.

Delon Wright Would Like To Stay

April 28th, 2022 at 10:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Center Clint Capela felt soreness in his knee as the Hawks were eliminated by the Heat on Wednesday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. Capela, who didn’t return in the fourth quarter, said he won’t require offseason surgery on the aching joint.
Veteran guard Delon Wright said he’d like to stay with Hawks but was noncommittal regarding free agency this summer, Kirchner tweets. Forward De’Andre Hunter echoed similar sentiments regarding a potential extension, Kirschner relays in another tweet. “I don’t necessarily have a number I’m looking for, but we’ll see,” Hunter said.

Markieff Morris Fined $25K For Violating League Rules

April 28th, 2022 at 6:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA, which has doled out a number of fines during this postseason, added Markieff Morris to that list on Thursday.

The Heat forward has been docked $25K for interfering with live game play while on the bench, in violation of league rules, according to a press release. Morris’ infraction occurred during Game 5, when Miami closed out its series against Atlanta.

Morris, who was not in the game at the time, grabbed and held Hawks guard De’Andre Hunter out of bounds, which prevented Hunter from completely reestablishing himself inbounds as he caught a pass from a teammate. Morris received an unsportsmanlike technical foul for his actions, which occurred during the third quarter.

Earlier in the day, the league fined Jimmy Butler and the Heat organization $15K apiece. Butler made an obscene gesture, which the Heat posted on social media.

Morris was fined $50K for a dust-up with Denver’s Nikola Jokic in November.

What Went Wrong, What Lies Ahead For Hawks

April 27th, 2022 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

After making the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, the Hawks were one of the first teams eliminated from this year’s playoffs. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic takes a look at what went wrong in 2021/22 for Atlanta and says that Nate McMillan‘s job security wasn’t a question as of a few days ago — it’s unclear if the way the Hawks’ season ended could change the equation at all, Kirschner writes.
In his offseason preview for the Hawks, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) outlines how team ownership’s willingness to pay the luxury tax could impact Danilo Gallinari‘s future and examines the case for extending forward De’Andre Hunter before he reaches restricted free agency in 2023.

Heat Notes: Series Win, Butler, Lowry, Oladipo, Robinson

April 27th, 2022 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

Despite missing Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry, the Heat closed out their first-round series on Tuesday, defeating the Hawks and securing a spot in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They’ll face either Philadelphia or Toronto in the second round.

As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes, the story of the first-round win was Miami’s defense simply performing better than Atlanta’s high-octane offense. After averaging 28.4 points per game on 46.0% shooting during the regular season, Trae Young put up just 15.4 PPG on 31.9% shooting in five playoff games vs. the Heat. Young, who made 22 field goals and had 30 assists in the series while turning the ball over 30 times, couldn’t seem to get going no matter who was defending him.

“They’re a good defensive team,” Young said, per Chiang. “Their team is more of a system than who they have on their team, and no matter who they have out there, they can play. It’s about their system. Their defensive system is all about helping.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

Miami’s second-round series won’t begin until next Monday, so Butler (right knee inflammation) and Lowry (left hamstring strain) will have a few days to try to get ready for Game 1. The hope is that both will be available, according to Chiang. “The next couple days while we just watch what’s going on, I just want everybody living in the training room,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Tuesday’s win. “Go back to our cave, bandage up, hopefully get healthy and then see what happens in that series. But definitely the guys have earned a couple days of just quality rest and treatment.”
Following the Heat’s Game 4 win, Butler and Victor Oladipo both laughed off a Skip Bayless claim that Butler hates playing with Oladipo (Twitter links via Brady Hawk of 5 Reasons Sports and Chiang). “I’m always the bad guy,” Butler said. “That’s okay. Bad guys are welcome here in the Miami Heat organization. … I love my guys.” Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald referred to the rumor as “baseless” (Twitter link).
Oladipo’s recent emergence has further diminished Duncan Robinson‘s role and raised more questions about Robinson’s future in Miami, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. Hollinger published his article prior to Game 5, but Tuesday’s performances only strengthened his thesis — Oladipo had 23 points, while Robinson went scoreless on 0-of-5 shooting in 13 minutes.

Clint Capela Exits Game 5 With Knee Injury

April 26th, 2022 at 8:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hawks big man Clint Capela departed during the second half of Atlanta’s must-win Game 5 due to a right knee injury, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape (via Twitter).

Atlanta’s starting center had missed the club’s first three playoffs contests with a hyperextension of the same knee. The Hawks trail the Heat 3-1 in their first-round series matchup.

Should the Hawks rally to win tonight (Miami is leading in the fourth quarter as of this writing), it remains to be seen whether or not Capela would be available going forward. Starting power forward John Collins was moved up a slot to center prior to Capela’s return to the lineup in Game 4.

Capela played for 19:25 in tonight’s contest before departing with the injury, scoring two points on 1-of-2 shooting from the floor. He also pulled down eight boards and had a steal and a block.

The 6’10” center is in the fourth year of a five-season, $90MM deal he signed while with the Rockets. His two-year extension with the Hawks will begin in 2023/24.

Jimmy Butler Ruled Out For Game 5

April 26th, 2022 at 5:39pm CST by Luke Adams

5:39pm: Butler is considered day-to-day, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN and Marc J. Spears of Andscape, who hear from a team source that the swingman felt soreness in his knee when he woke up on Tuesday.

Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports that there is no testing scheduled for Butler’s knee. Chiang adds that Oladipo is set to start in Butler’s stead tonight against Atlanta.

2:58pm: Already missing Kyle Lowry for Game 5 of their series vs. the Hawks on Tuesday, the Heat have announced (via Twitter) that they’ll also be without their other six-time All-Star, Jimmy Butler.

Butler, who hadn’t previously been listed on the injury report, has been ruled out due to right knee inflammation.

Butler has been the Heat’s best player through the first four games of the playoffs, averaging 30.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 5.3 APG, and 2.8 SPG on .543/.438/.794 shooting in 37.3 minutes per contest.

Having opened the series with Victor Oladipo and Markieff Morris both out of the rotation, Miami will have to lean more on its depth with two starters unavailable, relying on a handful of players – including Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, and Oladipo – to attempt to replace Butler’s scoring and play-making.

The Heat hold a 3-1 lead over the Hawks, so they have a little margin for error, but things would start to get uncomfortable if they had to travel back to Atlanta for Game 6, especially if there are no guarantees that Butler and/or Lowry would be ready to play on Thursday.

Bogdan Bogdanovic To Miss Must-Win Game 5 For Hawks

April 26th, 2022 at 5:29pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss tonight’s must-win Game 5 in Atlanta’s first-round series against the Heat, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter) that Bogdanovic will sit due to soreness in his right knee. Bogdanovic’s fellow reserve guard Lou Williams will also miss the contest with lower back discomfort, per Spencer. The 35-year-old Williams has been unavailable for every game of the series thus far.

Spencer adds that Hawks center Clint Capela, who missed the first three games of the series with a hyperextended right knee, will be able to play.

Game 5 in Miami represents an opportunity for Atlanta, down 3-1 to the top-seeded Heat, to capitalize on the absence of two Heat starters, as All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler and veteran point guard Kyle Lowry have both been ruled out for the contest. The absence of Bogdanovic, averaging 14.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.0 APG across four games, will hurt the Hawks’ offensive attack.

The Hawks seem likely to lean further on the offense of wings Kevin Huerter and Delon Wright in the absence of Bogdanovic.

Heat’s Kyle Lowry Out For Game 5

April 25th, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Heat point guard Kyle Lowry will miss a second consecutive game due to his left hamstring strain, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The team has ruled out Lowry for Game 5 in Miami on Tuesday.

Lowry, who injured his hamstring in Game 3, also sat out Game 4 on Sunday, but the Heat didn’t miss a beat without him. Gabe Vincent stepped into the starting five in Lowry’s place, while Victor Oladipo entered the rotation. Neither player had a huge game, but Vincent was a plus-19 and Oladipo was a plus-28 in Miami’s 110-86 victory over Atlanta. They’ll likely continue to play key roles as long as Lowry remains on the shelf.

As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald notes (via Twitter), Lowry’s hamstring strain is the sort of injury that would sideline him for at least a week – if not more – during the regular season. While the 36-year-old would certainly love to be back as soon as possible, the Heat won’t rush him back now that they have a 3-1 series lead over the Hawks.

The Heat have also listed P.J. Tucker (calf) and Caleb Martin (ankle) as questionable for Tuesday’s game, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.