Complete 2018 NBA Free Agency primer for OKC Thunder and all 30 teams
Atlanta Hawks
Free Agents:
- Tyler Cavanaugh (UFA )
- Malcolm Delaney (UFA following Hawks not extending offer)
- Damion Lee (UFA following Hawks not extending offer)
- Josh Magette (UFA following Hawks not extending offer)
- Andrew White III (RFA – 2-way FA)
Notes: Mike Muscala and Dewayne Dedmon both opt into final year electing to remain in Atlanta. And as expected Hawks don’t extend offers to any of Delaney, Lee, or Magette shifting them all to unrestricted status.
As expected, Hawks will not extend qualifying offers to Malcolm Delaney, Josh Magette or Damion Lee by Fri deadline. They will be unrestricted free agents.
— Michael Cunningham (@MCunninghamAJC) June 27, 2018
Team Profile and Ranking:
Key Ranking Stats to end season:
- Offense: 26th (102.4)
- Defense: 22nd (108.1 )
- Net: 26th (minus -5.7)
NBA Power Ranking at 2017-18 season end: 23rd
ESPN Power Ranking post playoffs: 30th
Vegas odds to win 2018-19 title as of June 26: 500 to 1
Committed Salary: $70,456,108.00 as of June 30th
Average attendance: 14,409
Attendance rank: 30th
Arena: Philips Arena
Management:
- General Manager: Travis Schlenk – 2017
- Head Coach: Lloyd Pierce – 2018 hired at season end)
Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon exercises $7.2 million option to remain with Atlanta, per sources. https://t.co/u1d1icOfLs pic.twitter.com/nM6LkZPikF
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) June 21, 2018
Salary Profile:
Atlanta will be one of the few squads who’ll have ample cap space. Yet, being in a rebuilding phase they won’t be rushing out to land a top free agent. With the 10 confirmed roster spots and three rookies, the Hawks arrive at the moratorium with 13 cemented positions.
Three players are on non-guaranteed contracts Isaiah Taylor ($1,544,951), as well as Antonius Cleveland and Jaylen Morris (both $1,378,242). The Hawks have a $4.4 million midlevel room exception.
| Sala | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Age | 2018-19 | Signed Using | Guaranteed |
| Kent Bazemore | 28 | $18,089,887 | Cap Space | $35,000,000 |
| Dennis Schroder | 24 | $15,500,000 | 1st Round Pick | $62,000,000 |
| Miles Plumlee | 29 | $12,500,000 | Bird Rights | $37,500,000 |
| Dewayne Dedmon | 28 | $6,300,000 | Cap space | $6,000,000 |
| Mike Muscala | 26 | $5,000,000 | Cap space | $5,000,000 |
| Taurean Waller-Prince | 24 | $2,526,840 | 1st Round pick | $4,949,400 |
| John Collins | 20 | $2,299,080 | 1st Round Pick | $4,236,000 |
| DeAndre’ Bembry | 23 | $1,634,640 | 1st Round pick | $3,201,840 |
| Isaiah Taylor | 23 | $1,544,951 | Minimum Salary | $1,312,611 |
| Tyler Dorsey | 22 | $1,378,242 | Minimum Salary | $2,193,857 |
| Jamal Crawford | 38 | $2,304,226 | $13,246,988 | |
| Tyler Cavanaugh | 24 | $1,378,242 | $679,919 | |
| Team Totals | $70,456,108 | $199,816,392 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/28/2018.
Draft 2018:
Round 1:
- Trae Young – Oklahoma point guard selected fifth by Mavericks and traded to Dallas in exchange for rights to Luka Doncic as well as the Mavericks 2019 first-round top-five protected draft pick.
- Rookie Profile: The enigma Trae Young – deciphering guard’s superstar potential
- With the 19th pick, the Hawks selected Maryland guard Kevin Huerter
- Rookie Profile: Kevin Huerter stock rises after stellar combine performance
- With the 30th pick, the Hawks selected Villanova power forward Omari Spellman
- Rookie Profile: Omari Spellman tantalizing skillset and upside are ideal for OKC
Round 2:
Devonte’ Graham – Kansas point guard selected 34th and traded him to Charlotte in exchange for two future second-round picks (2019, 2023).
GM Schlenk tips his hand in the draft:
Schlenk probably made what will be his biggest mark of the offseason on draft night when he chose to create a Warriors ‘lite’ squad. My apologies to Hawks fans who’ll have to watch the ascent of Luka Doncic, from Dallas.
This was the Hawks’ GM big move as the third pick was then swapped for Trae Young (the Mavericks fifth pick). Still, the Hawks didn’t leave with a simple swap. They also nabbed a first-round (protected) pick of the Mavericks in 2019. It’s a calculated move from both sides.
Keven Huerter who was climbing boards after a strong Draft combines experienced a slight drop in stock because of surgery to fix torn ligaments in his right hand. The Maryland guard is expected to miss two months for the procedure on his wrist.
The draft steal Schlenk nabbed (in my opinion) was Omari Spellman who jumped from his mid 40’s projection to 30th. Thunder fans likely recall I earmarked him as a target for Sam Presti to pair the OKC picks to land.
Hawks forward Mike Muscala has exercised his $5M player option, source tells ESPN. He will be back with Atlanta.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 24, 2018
Free Agency – offseason mandate:
For the Hawks, a new process is just beginning. Unlike most squads, Atlanta will enter their summer looking to focus on building a new culture and formulating a team for the future. New Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk arrived this season after honing his skills with the Warriors under Bob Myers.
His immediate plan seems to get some people in the often empty seats of Phillips Arena (30th rank in NBA). There are no delusions this Hawks team expects to be title-chasers next season. Rather, the plan will be to build a new mindset and develop internally.
The onus for the Hawks appears to be building an exciting team of the Warriors ilk. Many are suggesting Schlenk’s vision is for Young, Huerter, and Spellman to emulate Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. This may be a massive stretch for the youngsters to live up to. Still, factoring in John Collins, the Hawks youthful core has a solid start to their rebuild.
Roster Questions:
With the drafted players and roster commitments, the Hawks are three deep in the backcourt and center with two each on the wing and at power forward.
The two players on the hot seat are Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore. Schroder has his own personal off-court legal issues to address. This situation isn’t driving teams’ interest in the point guard despite rumors he’d prefer to be on a competitor. Bazemore was one of the lucky players who collected bank in the short-sighted summer of 2016.
As the Hawks look to the future watch for Schlenk to continue adding depth particularly on the wings and in the frontcourt. With full out tanking off the table, the Hawks can’t take that route.
Therefore, expect Atlanta to make the product as entertaining as possible while developing the core’s chemistry and identity. All while doing so well under the salary cap. Although the Hawks are in a prime position to take on an expiring contract to stockpile draft picks.