Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: LaMelo, Young, Heat, Kuzma

February 22nd, 2022 at 7:43pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets find themselves armed with a freshly-minted All-Star in point guard LaMelo Ball and a 2022 Most Improved Player candidate in forward Miles Bridges. Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer wonders if the club will be able to maximize Ball while he remains in his prime.

Fowler is skeptical of that happening this season at least. The 29-31 club has lost nine of its last ten contests, due in part to the absence of small forward Gordon Hayward and a few other key players. Fowler notes that the shorthanded Hornets are struggling to close out games.

“The way we are right now, we’re in a place of confusion a little bit at times during the game,” forward Kelly Oubre reflected following the team’s seventh straight home loss. “More veteran teams come in and capitalize on that.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

In an interview with Dotun Akintoye of ESPN, Hawks All-Star point guard Trae Young discussed his rise through his college run at Oklahoma to the ranks of the NBA’s best. Head coach Nate McMillan praised Young. “I think he has a special talent that we haven’t really seen at that position, his ability to score, as well as facilitate,” McMillan said.
The Heat could benefit from the addition of another stretch four to help space the floor and draw opposing big men away from the basket, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman cautions that the buyout market is currently somewhat barren. 36-year-old starting power forward P.J. Tucker fulfills that role at present, though given his advanced NBA age, is only playing 28.6 MPG. The 6’5″ veteran is connecting on 45% of his 3.1 three-point attempts per game.
The Wizards‘ front office may want to make power forward Kyle Kuzma, who is thriving in the first year of a reasonable three-season, $39MM contract, part of the team’s long-term future, opines Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Kuzma has a player option for the 2023/24 season, but if he keeps up this output, Robbins anticipates that the forward will opt out to test the free agent market in 2023. The 26-year-old is averaging 16.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG and 3.1 APG on .452/.334/.703 shooting splits this season.

Capela Isn't Surprised By Team's Struggles

February 17th, 2022 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks are 10th in the East and below .500 after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Center Clint Capela said to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic it’s a product of unexpected success for a young team. “Our approach the entire season, we were already thinking we were going to the playoffs,” Capela said. “Our approach wasn’t about the next game; it was, ‘Oh, we won this. We won that.’ That’s the problem with teams that are not used to this. I’m not so shocked.”

Poll: Which Team Will Win Eastern Conference?

February 17th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

With the All-Star break set to begin after tonight’s games, it’s as good a time as any to check in on the NBA’s playoff race and assess which teams are best positioned to finish the season strong and make a deep postseason run.

We’ll start today with the Eastern Conference, which is more competitive in 2021/22 than it has been in years.

No team has been able to pull away from the pack in the East so far, with the 38-21 Bulls currently hanging onto the No. 1 seed by a half-game. If the season were to end today, Chicago’s .644 winning percentage would be the lowest mark for a conference’s top seed since Detroit went 50-32 (.610) in 2002/03.

However, while the East may lack a dominant team, the conference makes up for it in depth. The top five seeds are all within three games of one another, and the top eight seeds are all at least four games over .500 — the same certainly can’t be said of the West, where the 29-31 Clippers are in the No. 8 spot.

The parity in the Eastern Conference has created a fascinating playoff landscape. Instead of having one or two clear-cut favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals, the East has at least five or six teams that could realistically make it.

The aforementioned Bulls have the East’s best record despite having dealt with injuries and COVID-related absences to key players all season long. If they’re healthy in time for the postseason, they’ll be an incredibly tough out, especially with DeMar DeRozan shooting the lights out like he has lately.

The 37-21 Heat have also been affected by injuries, but have been dangerous when healthy. Their preferred starting lineup of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, and P.J. Tucker has a +13.5 net rating for the season.

The Bucks (36-23) are the defending champions, having proven in last year’s playoffs that they can win big games and big series. The upstart Cavaliers (35-23) are on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of postseason experience, but have one of the NBA’s best defenses and added some more offensive firepower at the deadline by acquiring Caris LeVert.

Further down the standings, the Sixers (34-23) and Nets (31-27) made themselves legitimate title threats by completing a deadline-day trade to acquire stars who actually want to play for them. James Harden is expected to make his Philadelphia debut after the All-Star break, while Ben Simmons will play at some point for the Nets, who will also be getting Kevin Durant back in the coming weeks.

The Celtics (34-26) and Raptors (32-25) were out of the East’s playoff picture earlier this season, but have been two of the conference’s hottest teams as of late. Boston’s +5.4 net rating and 104.9 defensive rating both rank first in the conference, while Toronto’s length and defensive versatility has created problems for many of its opponents — the Raps have a 6-3 record against the East’s current top three seeds.

Of course, the Hornets (29-30), the Hawks (28-30), and a couple others teams remain in the mix for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, but unless Atlanta can replicate its late-season success from a year ago, a spot in the NBA Finals is an extreme long shot for any of those clubs.

What do you think? Who’s your current pick to come out of the Eastern Conference? How many teams in the wide-open East do you think have a realistic chance to make the NBA Finals?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 14th, 2022 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Several NBA teams typically end up with newly-opened roster spots following the trade deadline. This happens for a variety of reasons. Some teams make two-for-one or three-for-one trades; some acquire players in cap-related deals and immediately cut them; others buy out or release players they weren’t able to move at the deadline.

Whatever the reason may be, there are plenty of available roster spots around the NBA, and it’s a good bet that most of them will be filled before the end of the regular season. Contending teams will want to fortify their depth for the playoffs, while lottery-bound clubs will take fliers on prospects willing to accept multiyear deals that aren’t fully guaranteed beyond this season.

Here, with the help of our roster counts page, is a look at the teams that have open roster spots as of February 14:

Teams with open 15-man roster spots:

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics (3)
Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets *
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Miami Heat (2)
Milwaukee Bucks (3) *
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

* The Nuggets (DeMarcus Cousins) and Bucks (Greg Monroe) each have a player on a 10-day contract. We’re counting those roster spots as “open” because Cousins’ and Monroe’s deals will expire this week.

If we count the Nuggets, exactly half of the NBA’s 30 teams have at least one 15-man roster spot available. Twelve of those clubs have a single open roster spot, while the Celtics, Heat, and Bucks have multiple openings.

Since teams are only permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time, Boston, Miami, and Milwaukee will all have to get back to that league-mandated minimum before the end of the month.

The other teams on this list aren’t under immediate pressure to add a 15th man, and some may hold off for a little while for financial reasons — or just to wait to see who else becomes available on the buyout market in the next couple weeks.

Some of these clubs – including the Heat with Caleb Martin, the Pelicans with Jose Alvarado, and the Raptors with Justin Champagnie – might use their open roster spot to promote a player on a two-way contract who has earned regular minutes.

Teams with open two-way spots:

Boston Celtics
Dallas Mavericks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Utah Jazz

The Celtics (Sam Hauser) and Thunder (Aaron Wiggins) have each promoted a two-way player to the 15-man roster since the trade deadline. The other three teams on this list released a two-way player in January, creating an opening.

In the past, teams haven’t been able to sign players to two-way contracts after January 15, but that restriction doesn’t exist this season, so I expect we’ll see some – if not all – of these teams fill their open two-way slots sooner or later.

Hawks’ John Collins Out Through All-Star Break With Strained Foot

February 12th, 2022 at 6:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks forward John Collins has a strained right foot that will cause him to miss the team’s three remaining games before the All-Star break, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Collins had an MRI today that revealed the extent of the injury, according to Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). He will rest and undergo treatment and daily monitoring, she adds, and doctors will update his status after the break.

Collins received a five-year, $125MM extension during the offseason after playing an important role in helping the Hawks reach last year’s Eastern Conference finals. He has remained productive this season, averaging 16.8 points and 7.9 rebounds through 50 games while shooting 53.7% from the field and 38.8% from three-point range.

However, Atlanta got off to a slow start this year and Collins has been the subject of trade rumors that lasted all the way until this week’s deadline. The Hawks ultimately decided to keep the core of their team together.

Hawks Rumors: Simmons, McCollum, White, Collins, Bogdanovic, Gallinari

February 11th, 2022 at 5:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Although the Hawks didn’t make more trades prior to Thursday’s deadline, that doesn’t mean they weren’t active in discussions to try and upgrade the roster, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. The Hawks believed trading Cam Reddish to the Knicks last month would help clear the rotational logjam at wing and give clarity to the roster, Kirschner writes.

Atlanta has gone 9-5 since Reddish was dealt. After starting the season a disappointing 17-23, the Hawks currently sit with a 26-28 record, 10th in the East, one game ahead of the Wizards for the final Play-In spot.

The Hawks were in discussions about deals for Ben Simmons, CJ McCollum, and Derrick White, but all fell through for various reasons, sources tell Kirschner. Atlanta called Portland about McCollum before he was traded to New Orleans, but Portland wanted multiple rotation players and draft picks, which tabled the discussion.

For Simmons, the Hawks offered John Collins, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and picks. However, the deal wasn’t seriously considered by the Sixers, as they were set on acquiring a second star. Once James Harden became available, that’s all Philly was focused on.

Some members of Atlanta’s organization were skeptical of Simmons’ potential fit with center Clint Capela, another non-shooter, per Kirschner’s sources. Others in favor of the deal thought that adding an elite defender would help mask Trae Young‘s deficiencies on that end, and that shooting was an overall strength of the roster, which would’ve helped Simmons.

The Hawks offered Bogdanovic for White, but the Spurs wanted a first-round pick as well, which Atlanta declined because it wasn’t clear that White would be an upgrade over Bogdanovic. There were mixed feelings about the deal inside the organization.

Here are some more interesting notes from Kirschner:

Danilo Gallinari was discussed with Toronto and other teams, but the talks didn’t go far, says Kirschner. It’s expected that Atlanta will field calls about him in the offseason or possibly even consider waiving and stretching him, as his contract for next season is only partially guaranteed at $5MM ($21.45MM total). Moving off that money would help Atlanta stay out of the luxury tax, which ownership is only willing to pay if it believes the club is a true contender.
The Hawks remain high on De’Andre Hunter and believe a healthy offseason will be crucial to his progress. They’re also happy with Onyeka Okongwu‘s progress as a sophomore, and Kirschner thinks that eventually the team will have to decide whether to keep Okongwu or Capela long-term.
Collins’ camp denies that he ever asked for a trade, despite reports that he was unhappy. Many teams around the league are interested in his services, which is evident based on his name perpetually popping up in rumors.
Kirschner believes former Hawk DeAndre’ Bembry would be a good fit for Atlanta’s open roster spot after he was waived by the Nets as part of the Simmons trade. Gary Harris could also be a nice addition, if the Magic opt to buy him out, Kirschner opines.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Bol, Harris, Hawks, Oubre

February 11th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Luke Adams

According to president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, the Magic‘s relatively quiet deadline wasn’t for lack of trying.

“We’re always aggressive, but sometimes aggressiveness doesn’t equal activity,” he said, per Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel.

In their lone move, the Magic acquired PJ Dozier and Bol Bol from Boston. They’ve already waived Dozier, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Bol is recovering from foot surgery and may not be back this season either, but Weltman said the team is intrigued by the young big man and has yet to make a decision on him.

“We’ll have to get our people to get to know him and understand his situation,” Weltman said. “It’s around that timeline — about the end of the season — but I’m really not sure. When we get back from the trip, we’ll get him in here and get an understanding of what he’s dealing with and how far along he is.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Magic wing Gary Harris isn’t a lock to be bought out in the coming days or weeks, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. As a veteran on a rebuilding team with a big contract, Harris is a logical buyout candidate, but Smith hears that the team likes how he has helped its young guards. Orlando is also dealing with some injuries in the backcourt.
Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk wasn’t eager to shake up his roster after seeing how well the team has played since the Cam Reddish trade, he said on Friday. “Our last 12 games, we’re 9-3, so we feel good about the impact that (trade) had,” Schlenk said (Twitter links via Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). “Kind of have a set rotation now of guys, kind of know their roles. We looked at a lot of different stuff, but we’re comfortable with this group.” Schlenk added that the Hawks made a strong second half run last season: “We want to give them that opportunity to prove it to the world they can do it again.”
The Hawks have an open spot on their 15-man roster following the trade deadline, but aren’t targeting any specific types of players, according to Schlenk, who said the priority will be not to mess with the team’s chemistry. “We’ll look to see who’s out there, whether we look at young guys to bring in on 10-days, or whether there’s a veteran that becomes available that we feel like would fit in,” he said, per Spencer (Twitter link).
Hornets forward Kelly Oubre was fined $15K on Wednesday for violating league rules prohibiting the use of profane language directed toward the spectator stands, the league announced (via Twitter). The incident in question took place in Charlotte during the second quarter of Monday’s game vs. Toronto.

Lowe’s Latest: Gasol, Bucks, Suns, Pacers, Kings, Sixers, More

February 11th, 2022 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

With Brook Lopez sidelined indefinitely, the Bucks and center Marc Gasol, who is currently playing for Girona in Spain, had discussed the possibility of a possible late-season deal, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link). However, Lowe suggests that a union “does not appear to be in the cards” now that Milwaukee has acquired Serge Ibaka.

It’s worth noting that the Bucks have three open spots on their 15-man roster following the trade deadline, so there still could be room for Gasol down the road, and it’s not like he and Ibaka haven’t had success teaming up in the past — the two vets played key roles for the 2019 champion Raptors. Still, Milwaukee may be looking to address other positions with those open roster spots, and there’s no guarantee Gasol will look to return to the NBA when his season is over in Spain.

Here are a few more highlights from Lowe’s post-deadline roundup:

Sources confirmed to Lowe that the Suns and Pacers had brief discussions about Deandre Ayton and Domantas Sabonis, which was first reported by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Fischer suggested the two teams might be exploring the idea of an offseason sign-and-trade involving Ayton, and Lowe agrees that the talks seem to have been just exploratory and informal, possibly aimed at the future rather than present. Indiana subsequently traded Sabonis to Sacramento, which could eliminate the possibility of any future deal with Phoenix for Ayton, but Lowe points out that the Suns’ willingness to consider shaking up their roster – even in the offseason – is noteworthy.
Before acquiring Sabonis, the Kings approached the Hawks about John Collins, but they didn’t discuss Tyrese Haliburton or De’Aaron Fox in that context, says Lowe.
Lowe expects the Sixers to explore the buyout market for a backup center, since there’s no guarantee that Paul Millsap will bounce back in Philadelphia and Charles Bassey is unproven.
The Spurs explored ways to move up in last year’s draft, according to Lowe, who notes that San Antonio has since gained more draft ammo to potentially revisit that idea going forward.
Lowe contends that Kristaps Porzingis should take his trade to the Wizards “as a huge slap in the face,” given the modest return the Mavericks received. As Lowe writes, Dallas appeared to be trying to gain more flexibility for future moves by taking back two (relatively) smaller contracts for Porzingis’ max deal, which could pay off down the road. But it “seems to be selling unthinkably low” on Porzingis, Lowe says.

Leftover Deadline Rumors: Raptors, Rockets, Lakers, Nuggets, Knicks

February 11th, 2022 at 9:07am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors considered a series of potential trade scenarios before they agreed to send Goran Dragic and a draft pick to San Antonio for Thaddeus Young, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

According to Grange, Toronto had hoped the Hawks would make Bogdan Bogdanovic available, viewing the veteran wing as someone who could help the team in both the short- and long-term. However, Atlanta didn’t budge on Bogdanovic, forcing the Raptors to look elsewhere.

The Raptors inquired on Pistons forward Jerami Grant and Kings forward Harrison Barnes, sources tell Grange, but the price tags for those players were high. As previously reported, there were also discussions about a three-team deal that would’ve sent Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel to Toronto, but Grange suggests those talks never gained serious traction.

Here are a few more leftover rumors on trades that didn’t get made on deadline day:

The Rockets never made real progress on a John Wall trade with the Lakers, who were unwilling to attach a first-round pick to Russell Westbrook, but a few days before the deadline, Houston got much closer to moving Wall to another team, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. That proposed deal ultimately fell through, per Feigen, who doesn’t specify which team the Rockets were talking to.
During a TV appearance, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (video link) said one concept that “could have been discussed” by the Rockets and Lakers before the deadline, “depending on who you believe,” was a swap of Westbrook, Horton-Tucker, and draft capital for Wall and Christian Wood. It doesn’t sound like those talks, if they even occurred, advanced at all.
After agreeing to acquire center Jalen Smith from Phoenix, the Pacers explored flipping him to a new team, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Fischer says the Nuggets were among the clubs in the mix for Smith, but Indiana didn’t find a deal it liked and ended up hanging onto the third-year big man.
The Knicks didn’t make a deal on deadline day, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Sources tell Steve Popper of Newsday that the club was willing to move just about anyone on its roster, but had trouble finding trade partners for many of its top trade candidates, including Kemba Walker and Noel. According to Popper, his sources suggested there was a “universal lack of interest in the Knicks’ talent and contracts.”

Lakers, Warriors, Knicks, Bulls Among Teams Standing Pat At Deadline

February 10th, 2022 at 2:54pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The struggling Lakers, losers of seven of their last 10 games, opted not to make any moves leading up to the NBA trade deadline. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), Los Angeles will instead look to the buyout market to shore up their club.

Underperforming Lakers wing Talen Horton-Tucker, who had been considered L.A.’s most logical trade chip, will now remain on the roster through at least this season. At 26-30, the Lakers occupy the Western Conference’s ninth seed, a far cry from their expectations heading into the 2021/22 season. Russell Westbrook, who is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career, will also remain with the team.

Dave McMenamin of ESPN adds (via Twitter) that, given that the Lakers currently possess a full roster of 15 players, the team would need to waive a player to make room for a new addition. Reserves DeAndre Jordan and Kent Bazemore would seem to be the likeliest candidates for this.

Several other teams with postseason hopes opted to not make trades during deadline day:

Another team that had high hopes heading into 2021/22, the 24-31 Knicks, opted to stand pat today, reports Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The team made two trades earlier in the season, including acquiring Cam Reddish from Atlanta. Fred Katz of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that, though New York may have possessed some trade-friendly contracts, the team was unable to find a willing partner.
A relatively loaded Warriors club elected not to make a deadline transaction, and currently boasts a 15-man roster identical to their opening night group, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Led by All-Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, plus a returning Klay Thompson and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jordan Poole, this revamped Golden State club has comfortably established itself as one of the top teams in the Western Conference.
The Bulls, a top seed in the East with a very injured roster, decided to also not make any trades during the season, and will instead look to the buyout market to improve their depth, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Johnson adds (Twitter link) that Chicago never really wanted to move on from second-year power forward Patrick Williams this season. Johnson notes that Williams, who has been hurt for all but five games this season, could be returning from his wrist fracture as soon as mid-March.
The surging Hawks, winners of seven of their last ten games, ultimately did not make any deadline-day moves, according to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter). The Reddish deal with New York ended up being their only move this season.
The Timberwolves had several conversations around the league but ultimately could not find a trade that worked for them, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. With an exciting core of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, second-year shooting guard Anthony Edwards, and veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell, the team has developed into a frisky playoff contender. The front office will look to observe how the club wraps up the 2021/22 season. With a 29-26 record, the Timberwolves are the seventh seed in the West at present. Minnesota appears on track to make its first postseason berth since 2018.
The 38-18 Grizzlies, the third seed in the Western Conference, did not make any trades at the deadline, per Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian (via Twitter). Led by All-Star starter Ja Morant, Memphis is already a particularly deep club with several players signed to reasonable contracts.
In a bit of a surprise, the usually very-active Thunder are another team that decided to not make any compositional changes at the trade deadline this season, per the Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto (Twitter link). Oklahoma City is currently well below the salary cap and the minimum salary floor. The team’s cap space will still be in play in June before the new league year starts.