The Atlanta Hawks waive Sharife Cooper – what are his options now?
The Atlanta Hawks have moved on from Sharife Cooper. While this move makes sense it shows how things can change in such a short space of time in the NBA. Cooper was offered a two-way qualifying offer early in the offseason.
Cooper waited a while before signing the offer and the Hawks then waived him shortly after that. This now means that Cooper is a free agent which is not that helpful to him now as most teams have finished their rosters already.
This does not mean the end of Cooper’s NBA dream though. He was a man stuck between the two teams last season and this had a major impact on his game. He was not able to develop chemistry with either team. As a result, there were games where he did not start with the College Park Skyhawks. Cat Barber was the preferred starting point guard for the G League team.
With the Atlanta Hawks waiving Sharife, Cooper, what are his options now?
Well, Cooper can do a number of things to further his career from this point. The first, and the most obvious choice is to sign on with the College Park Skyhawks and try and work his way back onto the Hawks roster. To do this he needs to make the Skyhawks successful and be the heart of the team.
If he chooses to try another franchise to secure a two-way deal, he will be fighting other young players for these spots. He is certainly talented enough but as per Nick Van Exel, he is not ready yet. Van Exel is a great judge of NBA talent and this opinion will be listened to around the league.
The next option is to go back to the G League for a separate franchise and see if he can work his way onto another team’s roster. If he is done with the Hawks then this is the most likely scenario for the point guard.
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The final option for Cooper is to play overseas. There are plenty of examples where a player has gone this route and come back in the NBA as a better player. It would seem unlikely that Cooper follows this path as he is certainly good enough for a G League starting spot.