12:02pm: The Hawks have formally announced their deal with Hunter, issuing a press release to confirm the signing.
11:27am: The Hawks will announce the signing of free agent shooting guard R.J. Hunter today, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Once Atlanta officially signs both Hunter and Cole Aldrich, whose deal with the Hawks was reported on Thursday, the team’s 20-man offseason roster will be full.
Hunter, a 2015 first-round pick, spent just one season with the Celtics before being waived. Since then, Hunter has appeared in a handful of NBA games for the Bulls and Rockets. He was on a two-way contract with Houston before being waived by the club last month.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Erie BayHawks – the G League affiliates for the Rockets and Hawks – completed a trade last week that saw the BayHawks acquire Hunter’s NBAGL rights. As Adam Johnson of 2Ways10Days.com noted at the time (via Twitter), there was a feeling that Atlanta would offer Hunter an Exhibit 10 contract after securing his G League rights.
With 15 players on guaranteed salaries and Thomas Robinson and Aldrich among the non-guaranteed players also vying for roster spots, there likely won’t be room on the Hawks’ regular season roster for Hunter, but he’ll apparently attend camp with Atlanta. If he’s waived and opts to play in the G League for the 2018/19 season, he’ll suit up for Erie.