Atlanta Hawks: 4 players who have underwhelmed in Summer League

Atlanta Hawks player that underwhelmed No. 3: Eric Moreland should have taken advantage

Eric Moreland has the most experience on the roster and the fact that he hasn’t been a bigger presence is unfortunate. Especially in light of Bell’s failure to capitalize on his chance. Moreland is averaging just 4.5 boards and a singular point in a little over 13 minutes per game.

Scoring wasn’t going to be his claim to fame anyway, but the rebounding is shockingly low.

At 6-foot-10 he’s easily the tallest player on the Hawks Summer League roster and often on the floor as small-ball has been prevalent. So far, Moreland has been thoroughly outplayed as a center by Johnson when the rookie moonlights as a five.

The 29-year-old is three years Bell’s senior and has four years of NBA experience. Though, to be fair, just one season even reached 10 games.

He spent two seasons with the Kings after going undrafted out of Oregon State. After that, it was the Pistons whom he appeared in 67 games for, starting three. Moreland averaged just 2.1 points, 4.1 boards, and 1.2 assists in 12 minutes per contest.

He did record a pair of double-doubles, though, including a 16-point, 17-board outing against the Bulls.

But that was back in 2018. And he hasn’t played in the NBA since 2019. Moreland spent the last two years playing in China, averaging 14.4 points and 13 rebounds. Unfortunately, that success hasn’t translated stateside.

With Okongwu out until January at the earliest, Moreland could have stuck around as the third center. The Hawks have since signed Johnny Hamilton and nothing Moreland has done would warrant a change of direction.