Atlanta Hawks General Manager Travis Schlenk let the cat out of the bag, the team is looking at big men to fill the final roster spot. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that big of a secret in the first place. With Onyeka out possibly until February (a new revelation by Schlenk) and only two centers under contract, it was fairly obvious.
Still, Schlenk put it in no uncertain terms. The team is keeping a close watch on the free-agent market.
"“If I was to say we’re going to sign a particular type of player right now, it might be a big to balance our roster out.” – Travis Schlenk via Mike Conti/92.9 The Game"
The Atlanta Hawks possibly fill their final roster spot with Johnny Hamilton
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Well, always a man of action and apparently his word, news broke around early Tuesday morning that the Hawks were signing former Virginia Tech and University of Texas-Arlington center Johnny Hamilton to a one-year deal.
Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com retweeted Emilian Carchia of Sportando, who broke the news.
Hamilton spent time with the Detroit Pistons in 2018-19 averaging 4.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in three Summer League games.
Most recently, Hamiton saw action with the Milwaukee Bucks Summer League team in 2019-20, averaging 3.5 points and 4.7 boards.
He also had six points and three rebounds in just under six minutes of a preseason game with the Pistons.
The 7-footer spent last season split between Turkey and Germany, averaging 6.5/4.0 boards with Fenerbahce of the Turkish BSL and 5.7/3.7 with Mornar Bar of the Adriatic League.
As a senior at UT-Arlington, Hamilton averaged 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds in his lone season with the Mavericks. Terms of the deal were not immediately available but Hamilton would fill the need laid out by Schlenk. A big body to absorb minutes behind Clint Capela and Gorgui Dieng.
However, this may not be the last move made ahead of the regular season.
"“Once we get through the next few days of free agency and spots start drying up, there will more than likely be a good player left, that we’d have the option to bring to camp and give them opportunities to compete. We’re open minded…”"
Hamilton wouldn’t seem to fully fit that bill so we’ll keep an eye on the situation. We’ve gone over several names already, even before free agency. That includes apparent fan-favorite Paul Millsap who is reportedly open to a return to Atlanta.
It could at the very least mean the days are numbered for current Hawks Summer League big man, Jordan Bell. He was very underwhelming in his first game despite being among the older players in Las Vegas and a world champion. Hamilton has better size but doesn’t have the experience.