Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Hawks Interested In Jeff Green

February 9th, 2014 at 8:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The Hawks are looking to get Celtics forward Jeff Green, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). For Atlanta to pull such a deal off, it’ll cost them DeMarre Carroll plus more, Lawrence adds (Twitter link).

Green’s potential is evident, but he hasn’t been able to produce on a consistent basis this season. For the forward-thinking Celtics, it would certainly make sense to listen to offers on the 27-year-old forward given his contract. Green is making $8.7MM this season and $9.2MM in 2014/15 with a $9.2MM player option for the following year. There has previously been speculation that the C’s would try and package Green with the even more cumbersome contract of Gerald Wallace, but that may be tough to pull off.

Green had an opportunity to stand out in the first half of the season with star guard Rajon Rondo on the shelf, but he was unable to spearhead the offense in the way that Boston management hoped. The athletic forward can make things happen in transition, but he isn’t much of a spot-up shooter and clearly has limitations to overcome.

As a full-time starter for the first tIme in his NBA career, Carroll is enjoying his best season ever. Carroll is averaging a career-high 10.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 31.1 minutes with a PER of 14.1.

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Pelicans, Buyers/Sellers

February 4th, 2014 at 5:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, we heard that the Suns’ interest in continuing talks with the Lakers about a potential Pau Gasol deal hinges on the 7’1 Spaniard’s recovery from a strained groin injury. With news from InsideSoCal.com’s Mark Medina that Gasol’s rehab will keep him out of action for at least another two weeks, this most likely creates another hurdle in trying to complete a potential deal.

Here’s plenty more from around the Association:

Kevin Ding of the Bleacher Report (via Twitter) says that because of the injury, Gasol may or may not have played his final game for the Lakers. One certainty, however, is that the Lakers are now more motivated to deal him than before.
The Pelicans have been “extremely active” in trade talks over the past few days, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s unclear exactly what sort of deals they’re working on, but they announced last night that center Jason Smith is lost for the season, and they’ve reportedly been seeking a trade for a big man.
Regardless of whether or not Andrew Bynum can produce for the Pacers, the decision to bring him aboard represents a pledge from team management to the players that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship, says Jared Zwerling of the Bleacher Report.
In the same piece, Zwerling lists several teams who could be among the league’s buyers and sellers at the trade deadline this season, labeling the 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, Lakers and Bulls are potential sellers, while the Bobcats, Warriors, Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards, Suns, Mavericks, and Pistons are potential buyers. According to one executive, the Timberwolves and Nuggets could fall into either group depending on what transpires in the next week or so.
Cedevita of Croatia has waived Josh Selby after the former Grizzlies guard suffered an injury, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Selby played 10 games in the NBA last season.
The NBDL’s Texas Legends’ close proximity to their NBA-affiliate Mavericks has made it easy for both to enjoy a highly active partnership as far as developing the Mavs’ young players, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Frisco, Texas – where the Legends are based – is located about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, conveniently allowing the Mavs an option to send someone to play for the Legends one night and then head back for NBA practice the next day.
The 76ers announced that they’ve assigned big man Arnett Moultrie and guard Lorenzo Brown to the Delaware 87ers (Twitter link).
The Hawks have sent guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL, according to a team press release earlier this afternoon.
The Celtics announced that center Vitor Faverani was assigned to their D-League affiliate Maine Red Claws earlier today.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Amico On Sonics, Sixers, Wizards, Mavs

February 3rd, 2014 at 5:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s a good day to be a Seattle resident and there could be even more good news on the horizon for the city. Once commissioner Adam Silver settles into his new job, bringing an NBA team back to Seattle could be at the top of his list, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio writes. Whether that’s by relocation or expansion, league sources say, is yet to be determined. The league is not totally against adding a 31st team and it’s certainly not in favor of relocation. Here’s more from Amico’s column..

In addition to the Suns, the Clippers and Hawks are also intrigued by Sixers trade candidate Evan Turner. In addition to Turner, the 76ers are also very open to moving forward Thaddeus Young and center Spencer Hawes.
The Wizards look to be playoff-bound and are open to making a deal to complement their trio of John Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene Hilario. Amico says that fans shouldn’t be surprised if they get in on the Turner/Young/Hawes sweepstakes before the trade deadline.
The Mavericks haven’t been talked about in the rumor mill all that much but they could pull the trigger on a trade between now and February 20th. The Mavs feel as if they’re a piece away from challenging the likes of the Thunder, Spurs and others, so if they can get Turner for a draft pick they’ll do it.

John Jenkins To Miss Rest Of Season

February 3rd, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Hawks second-year shooting guard John Jenkins will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his lower back today, the team announced. Jenkins hasn’t played since December 20th. The team had since listed him as out indefinitely while he underwent therapy on his back.

The loss of Jenkins, the 23rd overall pick in 2012, probably doesn’t change Atlanta’s plans much. The Hawks already possess a $5.15MM disabled player exception to compensate for the loss of Al Horford. They also have a pro-rated amount of their room exception, worth $2.26MM, and nearly $1.8MM in cap space.

The news is a tougher blow for Jenkins, who played in just 13 games this season, and saw his minutes reduced to 12.2 per game from 14.8 per contest in his rookie year. He’ll remain under his rookie scale contract for next season, but there appears to be a strong chance that the Hawks will decline his $2.228MM option for 2015/16.

Hawks Sign Cartier Martin To 10-Day Contract

February 1st, 2014 at 9:51am CST by Cray Allred

5:11pm: The Hawks have officially announced the signing, via Twitter.

9:51am: After letting go of James Nunnally at the end of his second 10-day contract, the Hawks are now adding small forward Cartier Martin on a short-term deal, according Shams Charania of RealGM. Martin recently played out consecutive 10-day contracts with the Bulls, who declined to extend him for the rest of the year.

Martin was released by the Hawks earlier this season, then performed well in his limited time with the Bulls, shooting over 60% from both the three and the floor overall. In his six seasons, the Andrew Vye client has career averages of 5.4 points and 2.0 rebounds on 14.4 minutes per game.

Hawks Won’t Retain James Nunnally

February 1st, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Cray Allred

The Hawks won’t keep James Nunnally, whose second 10-day contract expired yesterday, per a tweet from Shams Charania of RealGM. Teams are only able to sign a player to two 10-day contracts, after that the player can only be retained through a contract that lasts at least the rest of the season.

In four games with the Hawks (his only time in the NBA), Nunnally was averaging 4.5 points on .333 shooting, and 2 rebounds per game in 13.5 minutes. Before the Hawks gave him this look, the Cavs, Bulls, and Thunder all showed some interest in the 23-year-old. Nunnally spent time in the Suns’ training camp before being waived, and has played in the D-Leauge this year as a member of the Bakersfield Jam, averaging 11.3 points a contest there.

Hawks, Bucks Receive Disabled Player Exception

January 25th, 2014 at 6:41pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

While no one wishes for season ending injuries, they have allowed the Hawks and Bucks to apply for the salary cap exception designed to help teams recover from their unplanned losses. In response to their applications, the NBA has granted both teams a disabled player exception reports Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Under the disabled player exception, a team can acquire a player for the lesser of 50% of the salary of the player they lost or the standard mid-level exception. We were aware Atlanta would likely be without Al Horford for the remainder of this season but it now appears the Bucks are giving up hope for Carlos Delfino to return this season from his foot injury.

Horford’s $12MM salary caused the league to grant the Hawks a disabled player exception worth the mid-level exception of $5.15MM. However, Delfino’s $3.25MM salary only allowed the Bucks to receive a disabled player exception worth $1.63MM.

The disabled player exception must be applied for before January 15th so it appears only the Hawks and Bucks will join the Nets as teams granted this exception this season. The Nets were granted an exception worth $5.15MM after losing Brook Lopez to a foot injury.

This also indicates the Bulls were not granted or did not apply for a disabled player exception due to the injury to Derrick Rose. The Bulls may not have applied for this exception due to the fact they have spent all season trying to avoid the luxury tax and signing a player under this exception would contradict those efforts.

Each of these teams has until March 10th to use its respective exception to sign one free agent for the rest of the season. Alternatively, each team may take until February 20th to trade for a player on an expiring contract that’s worth no more than the exception plus $100K.

Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes (via Twitter) the Bucks roster is at the league maximum 15 players. If Milwaukee plans to use this exception their roster size will limit them to either trading for someone or cutting a player already on their roster. The Hawks are also at the league maximum but have to make a decision next Saturday whether they will sign James Nunnally for the rest of the season or reduce their roster to 14 players.

D-League Notes: Ledo, Faverani, Celtics

January 25th, 2014 at 4:40pm CST by Charlie Adams

In his latest piece for D-League Digest, Gino Pilato details the story of Curtis Stinson, a 30-year-old D-League veteran who’s never played in an NBA game. It’s an interesting read, and Pilato notes that a veteran presence like the one Stinson provides can be beneficial to the development of young D-League players. Here’s the latest news regarding the NBA’s official minor league affiliate:

Mavericks rookie Ricky Ledo will see his third D-League assignment this season, the team announced today via press release. He’s averaging 14.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 29.8 minutes per game for the Texas Legends. He’s started nine of the 15 D-League contests he’s played in.
The Celtics have assigned Vitor Faverani to the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, the team revealed today in a press release. The move might sound surprising since Faverani has played relatively well for Boston and averages about 13 minutes per game. However, comments by C’s boss Danny Ainge made it clear that it’s only a temporary assignment to help get Faverani some playing time: “This is just a quick assignment to get Vitor some more game action,” said Ainge, “He’ll be back with the Celtics for shootaround tomorrow morning.“
More from Ainge on the move: “This is a great option for any Celtics player to get more in-game experience without missing any Celtics activities, and we expect there will be more of this type of assignment for Celtics players during the remainder of the season.” We saw Rajon Rondo see a similarly short assignment earlier this month.
Earlier today, we passed along that the Hawks recalled Jared Cunningham from their D-League affiliate, the Bakersfield Jam.

Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Cuban, Gortat

January 25th, 2014 at 12:23pm CST by Zachary Links

Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders runs down six things you need to know about the Suns, including their enviable cap position. While some might think that Phoenix would have a hard time landing big free agents, Eric Bledsoe is the kind of guy who other elite players will want to play with because he’s a fierce competitor and unselfish. It also helps that Jeff Hornacek is a player’s coach, being a former player himself.

Can an NBA owner do a sufficient job while living on the other side of the world? No, says Mavs owner Mark Cuban, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. “Absolutely not,” Cuban said. “Hypothetically speaking — and this only applies to individuals 6-foot-5 and under — you can’t,” Cuban said as an obvious shot at 6-foot-7 Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. “That’s why I sit so close. It’s like trying to run a company and not being able to go to the sales meetings, not being able to go to the customer service meetings or the support meeting.”
The Hawks announced that they have recalled guard Jared Cunningham from the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League. Cunningham, who was re-assigned to Bakersfield on January 1st, has averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 29.8 minutes in 17 games (14 starts) over three stints with the Jam this season. He has appeared in three games with the Hawks this year and will be available tonight at Milwaukee. To keep up with all of this year’s D-League assignments and recalls, check out our running list.
Wizards big man Marcin Gortat says he looks back on his time with the Suns fondly, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Gortat has also found a nice home for himself in Washington and the Wizards are very interested in locking him up long-term.
Scott Rafferty of Ridiculous Upside has a breakdown of P.J. Hairston’s 40 point performance for the D-League’s Texas Legends. The former UNC standout figures to be a first-rounder in the 2014 draft and could vault himself up the board with more performances like that one.

Poll: Which Hawk Is Most Likely To Be Traded?

January 22nd, 2014 at 11:19pm CST by Cray Allred

The Hawks currently sit at 22-19, good for the third seed in the East. That seeding could hold up, but they are far from secure as a playoff team. Al Horford is gone for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, and the Hawks are only five games away from the nearest non-playoff team at the moment.

The Hawks own the better pick between theirs and the Nets for this upcoming draft, with the worse of the two picks heading to the Celtics. The Nets have been turning things around of late, and that pick (obtained through the Joe Johnson trade) is looking less like a lock for the lottery with every Brooklyn win. The Hawks very well could stay afloat in the dreadful Eastern Conference and gain playoff experience for a fairly young roster, with a chance to advance against atypically weak playoff competition in the East. If they slip, though, it could become tempting to unload some talent to a contender in exchange for assets and a better shot at a premium pick for this year’s hyped draft.

Some players worth a look:

Paul Millsap: Millsap is working on one of the most tradable contracts in the league, with a modest $9.5MM cap hit each season of a short two-year deal, for a highly productive 28-year-old big man.
Jeff Teague: After expressing a desire to leave the Hawks after an extended restricted free agency, the Hawks wound up matching the Bucks’ offer sheet to secure the point guard for $32MM over four years. The Hawks are developing rookie point guard Dennis Schröder, and former Sixth Man of the Year, Louis Williams, is playing his way back from an ACL injury as a point/shooting guard combo.
Kyle Korver: Korver’s contract also stretches over four years, but the cap hit shrinks incrementally from $6.8MM this year to, eventually, $5.2 in the final year. Korver is a historically good three-point shooter, and there are usually contenders in the hunt for a scoring rotation piece as the season progresses.
Al Horford: Horford has three years and $36MM left on his contract, and is sitting out this year due to the aforementioned pectoral injury. The Hawks had also turned away all trade proposals for the center at last report.

What do you think? Will the Hawks make any significant moves before the trade deadline, or hang on to their current foundation?

Which Hawk Is Most Likely To Be Traded?

No one; they'll stand pat. 47.51% (745 votes)

Paul Millsap 20.92% (328 votes)

Jeff Teague 16.33% (256 votes)

Kyle Korver 10.33% (162 votes)

Al Horford 4.91% (77 votes)

Total Votes: 1,568