The Aftermath
Hawks plan is to sign Lamar Patterson to a 10-day contract. Gary Neal's 10-day deal is up.
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) January 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/ATLpistolpete/status/825838091743195136
Bighorns Complete Trade for Six-Year NBA Veteran, Gary Neal.
— Stockton Kings (@StocktonKings) January 30, 2017
Read-> https://t.co/xQ4hVmH4jr pic.twitter.com/HF26sQepio
Though Neal is not a Hawk anymore, his spirit lives on. In Atlanta, he was replaced by former Hawk Lamar Patterson, whose career may one day be chronicled by Twitter.
Not only was Neal re-signed by the D-League’s Texas Legends, where he played before the Hawks signed him, he was then traded to the Reno Bighorns in exchange for a 2017 4th round draft pick. This raises many questions: How many rounds does the D-League draft have? How did Texas still have rights to Neal even though he was on an NBA team?
Next: Breaking Down the Hawks' Best Three-Man Lineups in January 2017
All in all, the Gary Neal experience was just that; an experience. His four free-throws will be remembered by only the most trivial of fans. This may be for the best. Neal may never play in another meaningful game