Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Sign Lou Williams To One-Year Deal

August 5th, 2021 at 1:37pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 6: The Hawks have officially signed Williams, according to a press release from the team.

AUGUST 5: After a successful late-season run with the Hawks in 2020/21, veteran guard Lou Williams has agreed to re-sign with the team on a one-year, $5MM deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Williams, a three-time winner of the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, began the 2020/21 season with the Clippers, but was sent to Atlanta in a deadline deal involving Rajon Rondo when the Clips determined their backcourt needed more of a play-maker than a scorer.

Having spent the last three-and-a-half seasons in Los Angeles and having won two Sixth Man awards with the franchise, Williams was hit hard by the trade and admitted he contemplated retirement upon being sent to the Hawks. However, his arrival and his strong play in Atlanta helped push the team to the No. 5 seed in the East and the third round of the playoffs.

Williams averaged 10.0 PPG and 3.4 APG on .389/.444/.870 shooting in 24 regular season contests (21.0 MPG) for the Hawks, then put up 7.7 PPG and 2.2 APG on .455/.433/.963 shooting in 18 playoff games (15.4 MPG).

The Pacers, Bucks, and Heat were among the other teams linked to Williams during free agency, but a reunion with the Hawks was always viewed as a realistic possibility. While the 34-year-old won’t get the multiyear deal he’d reportedly been seeking, his $5MM salary will be nearly double the veteran’s minimum.

The Hawks had Williams’ Bird rights, so they won’t have to use cap room or a mid-level exception to re-sign him.

Hawks Sign Sharife Cooper To Two-Way Contract

August 4th, 2021 at 9:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have signed second-round pick Sharife Cooper to a two-way contract, according to the official transactions log at NBA.com.

Cooper, the 48th overall pick in last Thursday’s draft, had a brief college career, playing just 12 games in his freshman year for Auburn before a left ankle injury derailed his season. He looked good in his limited action though, averaging 20.2 PPG, 8.1 APG, and 4.3 RPG in 33.1 minutes per contest for the Tigers.

Signing Cooper to a two-way contract means Atlanta won’t have to save a spot for him on the 15-man regular season roster. He’ll occupy one of the team’s two-way slots instead and will be eligible to appear in up to 50 NBA games while on that contract.

It remains to be seen who will join Cooper on that second two-way deal in Atlanta. The team has a qualifying offer out to Skylar Mays, one of its two-way players from 2020/21, but so far he hasn’t accepted it.

Hawks Sign Jalen Johnson To Rookie Contract

August 4th, 2021 at 4:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

First-round pick Jalen Johnson has signed his rookie contract with the Hawks, according to the NBA.com transactions page.

Johnson, 19, played just part of his freshman season at Duke before leaving the team the team in February to prepare for the draft. He played 13 games for the Blue Devils, averaging 11.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per night, along with 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks.

The 6’9″ forward had been one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school, and there was a wide speculation about where he might be drafted, ranging from the late lottery to late in the first round.

Assuming Johnson receives 120% of his rookie scale amount, which most first-rounders do, he will earn $2,659,680 in his first season and could get as much as $12,888,585 over the four-year deal.

Hawks Have Reportedly Offered John Collins Five Years, $125MM

August 3rd, 2021 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks have made an offer worth $125MM over five years to restricted free agent big man John Collins, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. That offer has yet to be accepted, Amick adds.

When Collins and the Hawks discussed a contract extension last offseason, Atlanta reportedly made an offer worth about $90MM+ over four years, so this offer represents a bump in terms of both years and dollars. However, it’s still considerably less than the maximum the Hawks could put on the table.

As we outlined earlier today, the maximum 2021/22 salary for a player with fewer than six years of NBA experience – like Collins – who has full Bird rights is $163MM over five years or about $126MM over four years.

As Amick writes, Collins made it clear last year that he views himself as a maximum-salary player, and it seems like he and the Hawks once again have a difference of opinion on his value.

While Collins may continue to wait for the Hawks to increase their offer, his leverage is limited. There’s little cap space remaining around the NBA and there has been no indication that any team that still has room – such as the Thunder – is preparing to make a run at the 23-year-old. Additionally, sources tell Amick that Atlanta wants to retain Collins and isn’t interested in exploring sign-and-trade possibilities.

In other words, it still seems likely that the Hawks and Collins will eventually work something out, but it doesn’t appear a deal is imminent.

Hawks, Trae Young Agree To Five-Year Max Extension

August 3rd, 2021 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 3, 7:37am: Young’s extension will include an early termination option after the fourth year, according to RealGM (Twitter link). An ETO is similar to a player option, so Young will have the ability to opt out and sign a new deal in 2026.

AUGUST 2, 11:02pm: The Hawks and Young are in agreement on a five-year, maximum-salary extension, agent Omar Wilkes tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Wojnarowski pegs the projected value of Young’s deal at $207MM, which would mean a starting salary worth 30% of a $119MM cap in 2022/23. That suggests that Atlanta has indeed put Rose Rule language in the deal, but Young will still need to meet the criteria to earn that amount. If he fails to earn All-NBA honors next season, the extension would be worth a projected $172.55MM.

AUGUST 2, 3:59pm: The Hawks and star guard Trae Young are expected to finalize an agreement on a maximum-salary contract extension shortly after he becomes extension-eligible on Monday night, reports Jeff Schultz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move had been widely expected, as Young has emerged as the cornerstone of a Hawks team that made a surprising Eastern Conference Finals run this season.

He averaged 25.3 PPG, 9.4 APG, and 3.9 RPG in 63 regular season games (33.7 MPG) in 2020/21, then helped lead Atlanta past the Knicks and Sixers in the first two rounds of the playoffs before suffering a foot injury in the Eastern Finals vs. Milwaukee.

Young remains under his rookie contract for one more season and will earn $8.33MM in 2021/22. His extension would go into effect in ’22/23.

The exact value of that deal would depend on where the cap lands for the 2022/23 season. However, a conservative estimate would result in a five-year deal of approximately $168MM.

That number could increase to about $201.5MM if the Hawks include Rose Rule language that would bump Young’s starting salary to 30% of the cap instead of 25%. However, he’d have to earn an All-NBA spot this coming season to trigger that increase.

Young is one of a number of young stars entering the final year of their respective rookie contracts who could receive a maximum-salary extension shortly after the NBA’s new league year begins.

Luka Doncic, who has already qualified for the 30% max, is in line to get a five-year extension, though it likely won’t be finalized until after the Olympics. Multiple reports have indicated the Thunder will likely lock up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to a max-salary extension, and Marc Stein identified Deandre Ayton (Suns) and Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets) as other strong candidates for max extensions.

Hawks Sign Gorgui Dieng To One-Year Deal

August 2nd, 2021 at 8:23pm CST by Luke Adams

AUGUST 9: A week after agreeing to sign him, the Hawks have now finalized Dieng’s deal, the team announced today in a press release.

“With the signing of Gorgui, we’ve added more size and depth to our frontcourt rotation. He’s an experienced big with length who can space the floor and defend,” president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk said in a statement.

It looks like Dieng’s contract will use part of Atlanta’s mid-level exception.

AUGUST 2: The Hawks and free agent big man Gorgui Dieng have agreed to terms on a one-year, $4MM contract, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Dieng, 31, has bounced around the league in recent years, playing for Minnesota, Memphis, and San Antonio since the start of the 2019/20 season. Last season, he averaged 6.8 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 38 games (14.5 MPG) for the Grizzlies and Spurs.

While he wasn’t exactly a bargain on his previous four-year, $63MM contract, Dieng should be a much better value at $4MM. He’ll be a nice fit in the Hawks’ frontcourt behind starting center Clint Capela and should see regular minutes while Onyeka Okongwu recovers from shoulder surgery, if not beyond that.

Given the reported terms on Dieng’s deal, the Hawks could either be using a portion of the mid-level exception or the bi-annual exception to complete the signing. The BAE is worth about $3.7MM this season.

Hawks, John Collins Not Yet Close To New Deal

August 2nd, 2021 at 4:56pm CST by Luke Adams

As free agency opens, the Hawks and John Collins aren’t close to an agreement on a new contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link), who reports that there’s no momentum in those talks yet.

Collins is one of the top free agents on the market – he ranked second overall in our top-50 list – but he’s restricted rather than unrestricted, giving the Hawks plenty of leverage in contract negotiations.

While it’s possible another team could swoop in with a big offer sheet for Collins, multiple reports this weekend suggested that his potential suitors were becoming resigned to the idea that he’d likely remain in Atlanta.

That’s still the most probable outcome, even if Collins and the Hawks aren’t ready to come to an agreement right when free agency opens. Collins turned down a four-year, $90MM+ extension offer from Atlanta last offseason and will likely end up reaching a deal worth north of $100MM with the team this week. However, until the two sides reach an agreement, the door is open for something unexpected to happen.

Fischer’s Latest: Iguodala, Millsap, Mills, Robinson, McDermott, More

August 2nd, 2021 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers and Warriors, a pair of Pacific rivals, may be competing for some of the same veterans in free agency, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who notes that both teams are believed to be eyeing Andre Iguodala.

League sources tell Bleacher Report that Paul Millsap would be interested in joining the Warriors for a deal in the range of the taxpayer mid-level exception (approximately $5.9MM), though a reunion with the Hawks is also a possibility for Millsap, Fischer adds.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have been linked to Patty Mills, according to Fischer, who notes that the team would likely have to offer Mills more than the minimum to lure him to L.A.

Here are a few more free agency rumors from Fischer:

Fischer says the numbers floating around for Duncan Robinson‘s next contract are about $16-18MM per year, which is the range I previously speculated for the Heat forward, given last year’s market for top shooters.
Another three-point marksman, Pacers wing Doug McDermott, is expected to get a deal worth more than the $9.5MM mid-level exception, per Fischer.
The Spurs and Pistons are among the teams with Bulls restricted free agent forward Lauri Markkanen on their radar, according to Fischer.
Veteran swingman Danny Green is thought to have interest in playing for the Heat, Fischer reports.
Gorgui Dieng will likely be in line for a deal worth about the bi-annual exception ($3.7MM), with the Suns and Spurs among his potential suitors, writes Fischer.

Javonte Green, Others Receive Qualifying Offers

August 1st, 2021 at 9:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for teams to issue qualifying offers to players eligible for restricted free agency was at 5:00pm ET on Sunday, but news of a handful of under-the-radar QOs continues to trickle in several hours later.

According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), one player who received a qualifying offer was Bulls wing Javonte Green, whose offer was worth just shy of $1.9MM.

Green, 28, was sent from Boston to Chicago along with Daniel Theis in a three-team deadline deal and played a limited role for the team down the stretch, averaging 2.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 16 games (8.0 MPG). He’ll now start the 2021/22 league year as a restricted free agent.

Here are a few more QO updates:

The Thunder issued a qualifying offer to make forward Josh Hall a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
The Hawks tendered a qualifying offer to former LSU shooting guard Skylar Mays, tweets Smith.
The Mavericks have extended a qualifying offer to 22-year-old shooting guard Nate Hinton, tweets Smith.
The Sixers have issued a qualifying offer to guard Rayjon Tucker to make him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
Because all four of these players just finished the first season of a two-way contract with their respective teams, their QOs will be the equivalent of another two-way deal with a $50K guarantee.

No QOs For Frank Ntilikina, D.J. Wilson, Mike James, Others

August 1st, 2021 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina is among the players who didn’t receive a qualifying offer in advance of Sunday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post (Twitter link).

The Knicks’ decision on Ntilikina doesn’t come as a surprise. Despite the years the team spent trying to develop the former No. 8 overall pick into a reliable rotation player, he wasn’t used often in 2020/21, logging just 9.8 minutes per game in 33 contests as he battled some injury issues. A qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent would have been worth $7MM+, a figure he’s unlikely to match or exceed on the open market.

Here are updates on a few of the other players who didn’t receive QOs today:

The Rockets didn’t issue a qualifying offer to forward D.J. Wilson, who will become an unrestricted free agent, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Wilson’s QO would’ve been worth $6.4MM.
The Nets didn’t issue a qualifying offer to guards Mike James or Chris Chiozza, according to reports from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Both players will become unrestricted free agents.
Brandon Goodwin didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Hawks, a league source tells Scotto (Twitter link). Goodwin averaged 4.9 PPG and 2.0 APG in 47 games (13.2 MPG) for Atlanta in 2020/21.