The Atlanta Hawks have several players who played critical roles last season potentially hitting free agency this summer. They have a team option for Garrison Mathews, while the five others are all restricted free agents.
One player could be particularly tricky to hold on to, though, especially if previous interest in him resumes this offseason.
That player is Saddiq Bey, whom the Hawks acquired in a three-team trade last offseason.
ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks expects the Hawks to tender Bey at $8.4 million in restricted free agency. And HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto speculated that his season-ending knee injury could work in the Hawks’ favor when/if he hits the market.
Even then, that won’t prevent teams from signing the former Detroit Piston to an offer sheet this summer. Bey ranked 24th in HoopsHype’s free agent big board.
He could prove an appealing target for these playoff or future hopefuls.
Saddunk! pic.twitter.com/2akiviKToj
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 4, 2023
1) Saddiq Bey could help supercharge Cavaliers offense
The Cleveland Cavaliers attempted the eighth-most three-pointers this past season. But they were just 15th in efficiency and, perhaps surprisingly given their frontcourt, they ranked 17th in rebounding.
Specifically, it was their offensive rebounding (22nd) bringing down their defensive crashing (11th).
Bey can help with all of those issues.
The 6-foot-7 forward averaged a career-best 2.7 offensive rebounds last season, tied for 10th-most among players with at least 60 appearances last season. And while he shot just 31.6% from deep this season, he did have some strong stretches.
Bey also shot 40% from deep last season after the trade, albeit in an extremely small sample size for the 35.2% career shooter from outside.
Cleveland could break up their star guards this summer, potentially creating a void on offense.
Armed with the $12.8 million non-taxpayers mid-level exception – a theme of this list – the Cavs could make things uncomfortable for the Hawks if the latter is unable to clear room elsewhere on the salary cap.
Their five-game series loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round showed the Cavs are still light on scoring.