Bazemore Would Prefer To Stay In Atlanta
The Hawks‘ Kent Bazemore stands to significantly increase his $2MM salary as he heads toward free agency, but he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he has been too busy to think about it. “Honestly, I haven’t had time,” Bazemore said. “It’s been a very aggressive year as far as scheduling, as far as the physical and mental load. I think in December, I had already played 300 more minutes than I had the whole last year. So physically, it was a lot.” Bazemore probably attracted a lot of suitors by averaging 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in his first full year as a starter with the Hawks. He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder. Although he can expect to get plenty of offers this summer, Bazemore’s first choice is to remain in Atlanta. “Being able to be out there and play through your mistakes and have a coach [Mike Budenholzer] who takes it personal to coach you,” Bazemore said. “He loves my competitiveness and I love how competitive he is. It’s a match made in heaven.”
Hawks Recall Tavares, Patterson From D-League
- The Hawks have recalled center Edy Tavares and swingman Lamar Patterson from the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, the team announced via press release.
Hawks Assign Patterson To D-League
- The Hawks have once again assigned swingman Lamar Patterson to the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Patterson will play in the deciding game of the Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles D-Fenders tonight, Vivlamore notes.
Community Shootaround: Al Horford
Al Horford‘s future with the franchise is perhaps the biggest question facing the Hawks this offseason. The 29-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent. He stands to more than double his salary in free agency and may change the perception of who deserves a max contract, opined Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Horford is making $12MM this season, but when he hits the open market this summer after completing his ninth NBA season, he’ll be eligible for a contract starting at approximately 30% of the salary cap. That works out to a first-year salary of approximately $26MM and means that a four-year maximum contract for the veteran player would cost a team in the neighborhood of $111MM.
That is certainly a hefty sum for a player who has never averaged higher than 18.6 points per game in a season, but with the salary cap set to increase markedly for next season, the perception of player worth is likely to change dramatically as well. That brings me to the topic for today: Is Al Horford worth a maximum salary contract?
The big man is coming off a solid, if unspectacular campaign that saw him post averages of 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.1 minutes per outing. Horford is a perfect fit in coach Mike Budenholzer‘s offense, which certainly should factor into the Hawks’ decision-making process regarding the center. Signing any big man to a long-term pact is a major risk these days, and Horford, who turns 30 in June, is entering the decline phase of his career, which isn’t a plus when weighing the pros and cons of committing a sizeable chunk of cap space to him. The center has had injury issues in the past, missing significant parts of the 2011/12 and 2013/14 campaigns.
But what say you? Is Horford worth annual salaries of $26MM or more? If so, do you think he re-signs with the Hawks for that amount or heads elsewhere? Take to the comments section to share your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Hawks Recall Patterson From D-League
- The Hawks have recalled swingman Lamar Patterson from the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, the team announced via press release.
Assistants Darvin Ham, Kenny Atkinson Draw Praise
- Two NBA executives told Woelfel that Hawks assistant Darvin Ham is likely to elicit serious consideration for head coaching jobs in the next year or two.
- Multiple Hawks players, including soon-to-be free agent Kent Bazemore, lauded assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who’ll take over the Nets head coaching job as soon as Atlanta’s playoff run is finished, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com details. Kyle Korver said Atkinson was a significant reason he re-signed with the Hawks in 2013, observes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Hawks Assign Lamar Patterson To Spurs Affiliate
- The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the D-League affiliate of the Spurs, Atlanta announced. The D-League Spurs are set to play tonight as they resume a postseason game that had been suspended Sunday when condensation formed on the court. Atlanta’s next playoff game is Tuesday. The Hawks are without their own affiliate but have sent players, including Patterson, to the Austin Spurs on many occasions.
Southeast Notes: Lin, Beal, Horford, Patterson
Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin says Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson helped lay the groundwork for “Lin-sanity,” relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Atkinson, who will become the Nets’ new head coach once Atlanta’s playoff run is complete, aided in Lin’s development when both were with the Knicks. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, one o’clock when I go home,” Lin recalls, “and I’ll say, ‘Hey, can I look at those turnovers? Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick-and-rolls?’ And he’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning. When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice, he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach [Mike] D’Antoni’s system.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Restricted free agent Bradley Beal said he and backcourt partner John Wall both have to play better for the Wizards to be successful, according to J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The fourth-year shooting guard was limited to a career-low 55 games this season and was placed on a minutes restriction after doctors found “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula” in December. “It’s been a rocky year in terms of injuries, offense changing, getting used to playing with new guys on the team and adjusting to a few things,” Beal said. “We both should’ve had a better year than we had. We should’ve carried the team a little better than what we did. We both can attest to it.”
- The Hawks‘ Al Horford stands to more than double his salary in free agency and may change the perception of who deserves a max contract, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Horford is making $12MM this season, but when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing his ninth NBA season, he will be eligible for a contract starting at approximately 30% of the salary cap, or about $26MM. Hamilton says that may seem expensive for a player who has never averaged 20 points per game, but Horford will likely define the market for fellow free agents Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Mike Conley and Harrison Barnes.
- The Hawks sent Lamar Patterson back to the Austin Spurs of the D-League to finish their playoff series, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Journal Constitution. Atlanta recalled Patterson on Friday after Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a groin injury.
Lamar Patterson Recalled From D-League
- The Hawks have recalled swingman Lamar Patterson from the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, the team announced.
Hawks Plan Max Offer For Al Horford
The Hawks plan to offer the maximum salary to Al Horford when he becomes a free agent this summer, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed on the CSNNE.com Celtics Talk podcast Thursday in advance of Atlanta’s first-round playoff series against Boston (audio link; scroll to 17:10 mark). That’s no surprise, though whether the Hawks are prepared to make a full five-year max offer to the big man who turns 30 in June remains to be seen.
Atlanta likes rim protection at the center position, but other teams like him for his floor-stretching capabilities, Vivlamore observes. Horford reportedly places a high priority on signing for five years, which he can only do with the Hawks, but just about every other team in the league is nonetheless eyeing him, Vivlamore says, mentioning the Cavaliers, Raptors and Celtics specifically. Vivlamore makes similar remarks in a video with CineSport’s Noah Coslov on the Journal-Constitution site.
The Magic and Horford apparently share a mutual interest, but the Jason Glushon client enjoys playing in the Atlanta system, according to Vivlamore, who believes his fondness for Atlanta’s schemes will play a role in his decision. Vivlamore pegs the chances of Horford re-signing with the Hawks at 90%.
The starting salary in a max deal for Horford, a ninth-year veteran, will be around $25MM, with a salary cap expected to be at least $90MM. The Hawks, with close to $52MM in guaranteed salary already committed, would have a tight squeeze to re-sign fellow soon-to-be free agent Kent Bazemore if they bring back Horford at the max, since they only have Bazemore’s Early Bird rights. The swingman is poised for an outsized payday after a breakout season.
Horford is No. 5 in the latest 2016 Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, one spot ahead of Atlanta native Dwight Howard. Kris Willis of Peachtree Hoops discussed Horford’s free agency with Hoops Rumors in an interview we posted earlier today.