The Atlanta Hawks signed a number of players to training camp contracts before cutting them in the pre-season. As players like A.J. Lawson, Johnny Hamilton, and Jahlil Okafor were tried out and then released, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot outlasted them all and was able to secure the 15th roster slot.
Things were not smooth sailing for the Frenchman as the Hawks started training camp without him. Luwawu-Cabarrot was stuck in France for longer than expected but it all worked out in the end.
It was expected that Luwawu-Cabarrot would not get much court time this season, barring disaster. Well, In an injury crisis eerily similar to that of last season De’Andre Hunter went down. At this point, it was evident that Luwawu-Cabarrot needed some rotation minutes to make sure that he was ready if he was required.
The Atlanta Hawks had to start Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
While Luwawu-Cabarrot is an NBA-level talent, he has never seemed to fit in where he has played. The fact that the Hawks had to start him during the injury crisis just says how deep they were immersed in it. Luwawu-Cabarrot started to look comfortable, then his ability to impact that game just fell away.
In his 36 games this season, Luwawu-Cabarrot has averaged 4.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 12.6 minutes per contest. While this is a good level of production for the end of the bench, there were games where he was so ineffective that he lost his playing time the day Kevin Knox was eligible to play.
He is now only being used for junk-time minutes which is a long way from the game where he hit 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting from deep in the win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now that his contract is guaranteed it is unlikely that the Hawks will waive him, particularly as they have an open roster spot. Barring further injuries, Luwawu-Cabarrot will struggle to get more playing time with the Atlanta Hawks this season.
Signing Re-Grade: D