2:46pm: The Hawks have issued a press release confirming the injuries to Bazemore and Morris. According to the team, Bazemore will miss the rest of the season and Morris will be out for approximately two to four weeks.
2:20pm: After leaving Sunday’s game with a knee injury, Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore isn’t expected to return to action anytime soon. A source tells Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Bazemore will likely miss “several weeks” due to a right knee bone bruise.
A three-and-D wing, Bazemore has started 65 of the Hawks’ 67 games this year, averaging 12.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 3.5 APG with a career-best .394 3PT%. He still has two seasons left on the lucrative four-year deal he signed back in 2016, and is owed an $18MM+ guaranteed salary for 2018/19, plus a $19MM+ player option for 2019/20.
The tanking Hawks are currently tied for the third-worst record in the NBA at 20-47, so the club likely won’t be too devastated to lose one of its more productive rotation players. While the recovery timeline on Bazemore suggests he could be back before season’s end, it’s very possible that Atlanta will play it safe and hold him out for the club’s final 15 games.
Meanwhile, the Hawks will also be without rookie Jaylen Morris, who suffered a left ankle sprain and is expected to be out for two weeks, according to Cunningham. Morris just signed his second 10-day contract with the club on Sunday, but it sounds like he won’t be healthy before that deal expires on March 20.
If Morris remains a part of Atlanta’s plans, the team figures to keep him around during his recovery and then sign him to a rest-of-season contract later this month. If not, the Hawks could end up terminating his 10-day deal early.
Tanking Hawks? Just because they suck doesn’t mean they’re tanking. Budenholzer has coached his tail off trying to win every night. The FO wants them to tank but they won’t.
Perfect, everyone just keep saying exactly that these last 15 games so Adam Silver won’t be suspicious about the Hawks tanking lol…
That sentiment could apply to most tanking teams. Maybe there are a couple situations where the coaches/players have all but given up, but for the most part the players/coaches on those bottom teams are still trying to win — they’re just not being put in a position to do so by their front offices. I’d consider that “tanking.”
I’d agree…most players and coaches won’t willing lose games. Front offices facilitate that. Tanking is a necessary evil especially when the first round of the draft is the only realistic meaningful one.