Atlanta Hawks Claim Tyrone Wallace off Waivers

A quick look at a recent small roster move the Atlanta Hawks made by signing Ty Wallace off waivers.

The Atlanta Hawks have continued to stay busy in terms of transactions, as it was announced that the team had claimed former LA Clippers guard Tyrone Wallace off waivers from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Wallace is added to the roster ostensibly as backup point guard insurance in case the Evan Turner as backup point guard experiment fails or inexperienced sophomore guard Brandon Goodwin is not able to spell starter Trae Young as well as expected.

Wallace played two seasons for the Clippers, and he actually carved out a solid role for himself in his rookie season before getting shunted aside in favor of other options last year. After being drafted with the final pick of the second round in 2016 by the Utah Jazz, Wallace spent the entirety of his rookie year in the G-League with the Salt Lake City Stars.

Next season, Wallace originally joined up with the Agua Caliente Clippers before it became clear he was too good for the G-League. The Clips signed Wallace to a Two-Way deal, and the rest is history.

In order to carve out time for himself with the Hawks, Wallace will have to showcase solid playmaking chops and an improve shooting stroke, which has seemed to be one of his major weaknesses at the NBA level – having only shot 23.7 percent across two seasons with the Clips per Basketball Reference.

Another concern is his penchant for turnovers, as his turnover rate in each of his first two NBA seasons – 14.1 percent in his rookie year and 12.9 percent last year – are higher than his assist rates for those seasons: 11.8 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.

Seeing as cutting down on turnovers is one of the Hawks’ main focuses this year, Wallace must also do his best to not boot the ball all over the gym.

In the end, this is a low-risk flyer that could pan out well for the Hawks after Wallace’s first two Clippers seasons went well.