The Atlanta Hawks front office doesn’t appear to be taking breaks anytime soon, as the team is reportedly interested in Shabazz Muhammad.
Per Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype the Atlanta Hawks are one of the team’s showing interest the now unrestricted free agent formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks have also shown interest in signing Shabazz Muhammad.
The Hawks, Nets, Bucks, Knicks, Magic and Bulls have each shown some level of interest in unrestricted FA Shabazz Muhammad, sources confirm.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 20, 2017
Shabazz Muhammad was a high school sensation and was tremendous in his sole collegiate season at UCLA. After being selected in the lottery of the 2013 NBA Draft, Muhammad hasn’t come close to the expectations set for him. Spending all four of his NBA seasons so far with the Timberwolves, Muhammad has at times shined as a solid 6th man in Minnesota. That’s about the extent of his production however.
At 6’6″ Muhammad has always had the physical upside for the wing position. He has a strong body and a ton of athleticism. The primary issue with Shabazz is his perimeter shooting. For, at times, a trigger happy perimeter player Muhammad has been an inefficient shooter for most of his career. He has shot just 32.3% from three in his career, but a 48.2% mark on field goal attempts and 56.6% true shooting percentage this year shows he can get it done inside the arc.
The value of this potential signing for Atlanta would be simply to fill out the roster. The team doesn’t have much depth at the small forward position behind Taurean Prince. The Hawks would likely look to bring Shabazz Muhammad on in an off-the-bench role, with a chance to further prove himself. Don’t expect any sort of large scale or multi-year contract for Muhammad if a deal does get done, given Travis Schlenk’s prior moves this offseason.