Atlanta Hawks’ free agency primer.
Who will be free agents at the end of the season? Which Free Agents are restricted and which ones are unrestricted? Which players have rights or qualifying offers? Who will retire? Let’s take a look into some of the Atlanta Hawks free agency details.
Qualifying Offers:
The Atlanta Hawks have extended qualifying offers to the following players that will become restricted free agents at the end of the season:
De’Andre’ Bembry, SF
Skal Labissiere, PF
Damian Jones, C
Charlie Brown Jr., G
DeAndre’ Bembry was signed by the Hawks to a two-year rookie contract in 2016. The team exercised a club option in 2018 and 2019 to retain him and now he is in the fourth year of his rookie contract.
Atlanta has extended a qualifying offer worth $3,752,337, thus making him a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Bembry does qualify for Bird rights, meaning the Hawks can resign him even if it means exceeding their cap space and can sign him for one additional year than any other team can offer. Bembry is averaging about six points, four rebounds, and two assists this season and we will likely see him suit up again for the Hawks next season.
Skal Labissiere was traded to Atlanta in February 2020 from Portland for a 2024 2nd round pick. Labissiere was signed to the Hawks using his rookie contract that will come to its four-year expiration at the end of this season.
The Hawks extended a qualifying offer worth $3,484,882, thus making him a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Like Bembry, Labissiere has Bird rights as well. He had been averaging around six points and five rebounds before he suffered an injury, and will likely be on the Hawks roster again next season given that they have been interested in him for a while.
Damian Jones was traded to the Hawks in July 2019 along with a 2026 second-round pick to the Warriors for Omari Spellman. He is on the last leg of his rookie contract that will reach its four-year mark at the end of the season.
The Hawks extended a qualifying offer worth $3,457,586, making him a restricted free agent with Bird rights as well. I thought Jones might have ended up in a package to obtain a center before the 2020 trade deadline, but since he was retained, I expect to see him in Atlanta next season as well. Jones has averaged about six points and four rebounds this season.
Charlie Brown Jr. was signed to the Hawks on a two-way contract in July 2019, spending the majority of the time with the College Park SkyHawks (the team’s G-League affiliate).
The Atlanta hawks extended a qualifying offer to Brown, making him a restricted free agent heading into next season. The qualifying offer is basically another two-way contract for Brown. Brown has averaged around 17 points, seven rebounds and 3 assists for the CP SkyHawks. He has not had many meaningful minutes with the Atlanta Hawks and we should expect to see him back in this dual role next season.
Unrestricted free agents
The following two players will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season:
Jeff Teague, PG
Treveon Graham, SG
Jeff Teague was traded to the Hawks from the Timberwolves in January along with Treveon Graham for Allen Crabbe. Teague was signed using $19 million in cap space. Teague will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, with Bird rights as well.
He is averaging around 11 points, two rebounds and five assists per game. It is kind of up in the air what the Hawks will decide on with the veteran point guard, but I believe the Hawks will most likely part ways with Teague because of his price tag. It makes no sense for the Hawks to overpay Teague when it seems like they have found a younger and cheaper back up point guard in Brandon Goodwin.
The Hawks signed the former two-way player to a multi-year deal earlier in the year.
Treveon Graham will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season as well but with Early Bird rights, contracts that are restricted to two-year terms. The veteran was signed to the Hawks using a minimum contract and averaged around four points and three rebounds for the team. The team will likely part ways with Grahan next season, but could bring him back for the right price.
Retiring:
Vince Carter is a 22-year NBA veteran who we can expect to see end his epic career this offseason. Carter made a statement on ESPN’s’ The Jump last Summer about having “one more run” left in him. He was signed to the Hawks in the Summer of 2019 to a one-year minimum contract. This season, he averaged around five points, two rebounds, and an assist. His career average is 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game.