Should the Atlanta Hawks pass or pursue Skylar Mays
The Atlanta Hawks re-signed Skylar Mays to a two-way deal last offseason after his rookie year was interrupted due to the G-League not operating. Mays showed a tendency to make the right play at the right time so it was worth the Hawks taking a punt on the shooting guard.
Mays has now been in the Hawks squad for two seasons and yet he played less time this season than he did in his rookie year. There are a number of reasons for this though. Firstly, being a two-way player meant that he was assigned to the G League for a small portion of the season.
He only played two games down in the G League, averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 assists, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 steals in 34.0 minutes per game. It was a combination of injury and the Hawks keeping him with the varsity squad as insurance which kept him from playing more games.
The Atlanta Hawks rewarded Skylar Mays for his hard work.
The Hawks needed Mays with the varsity squad thanks, firstly due to an injury crisis which was scarily similar to last season, then due to the covid-19 crisis. It is very hard to judge how well Mays played with the team because he started five games during the Covid crisis and he played with the G-League top-ups.
As a starter, Mays averaged 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists which are solid numbers in 23.5 minutes per game. As a reserve, Mays averaged 1.6 points, 0.2 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in 4.5 minutes per game, getting mainly junk-time minutes.
Mays had three games where he scored in double figures during the time the Hawks needed him the most. However, what is the most impressive number is that Mays had 10 turnovers for the entire year, despite the fact he had five games where he played more than 20 minutes, in two of these he played more than 30 minutes.
Next. Season report card for Onyeka Okongwu. dark
As a result of this, the Hawks rewarded Mays with a full contract which meant they were able to offer Chaundee Brown a two-way deal at the end of the season. So the question is, do the Hawks pass or pursue Skylar Mays? Due to the size of the deal that he is likely to be offered, the Hawks should pursue him. They are getting a player who has been in the Hawks system for two years and can build on his experience from this time.