Former Hawks big man sends 4-word message after signing with new team

The Atlanta Hawks parted ways with Bruno Fernando, cutting the veteran backup center on July 30 after twice agreeing to push back the guaranteed date on the final year of his four-year, $10.8 million contract.

It did not take long for the sixth-year veteran to find a new home either, with the Toronto Raptors inking him to a one-year, $2.4 million contract. He sent a short message to celebrate.

“THANKFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY,” Fernando posted on X on August 4.

Fernando averaged 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 45 appearances for the Hawks, including a pair of starts. He averaged 9.0 points and 7.3 boards in those two starts. He was a minus-46 in those games while posting a minus-4.0 as a reserve, per Basketball Reference.

The 25-year-old Fernando was a second-round pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 NBA Draft, selected No. 34 overall.

He is coming his second stint with the Hawks in 2023-24, having also began his career in Atlanta.

The Hawks acquired Fernando shortly after he was drafted, and traded him to the Boston Celtics in 2021. The Hawks reacquired Fernando from the Houston Rockets at the 2023 trade deadline in a deal that also yielded Garrison Mathews.

The Hawks waived Fernando to address their “roster crunch,” a term General Manager Landry Fields used to describe the sheer number of players under contract. 

Fernando joins a Raptors roster that already has 14 players on guaranteed contracts.

However, he could see a bump in his role in 2024-25, sliding in behind starter Jakob Poeltl as the top backup depending on how Toronto chooses to deploy veteran incumbents Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk.

On the Hawks, Fernando was buried on the depth chart behind starter Clint Capela and his backup Onyeka Okongwu. 

They added Cody Zeller and Larry Nance Jr. via trade from the New Orleans Pelicans this summer.

Hawks roster sill facing frontcourt logjam, backcourt uncertainty

Trae Young will star along with Capela and Jalen Johnson for the Hawks in 2024-25. But it is still unclear how the other guard and forward spots will shake out. Incumbent Bogdan Bogdanovic is a proven scorer and capable starting or coming off the bench.

However, paring him with Young would be borderline malpractice defensively.

The apparent alternative would be to start newly-acquired Dyson Daniels, another member of the Dejounte Murray trade return package from the Pelicans.

Daniels would provide the defense and secondary playmaking ability needed alongside Young in the starting lineup. Daniels is shooting the ball well from beyond the arc during his run with Australia in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

He will need to prove that is not a fluke to earn and maintain a spot in the starting five.

At small forward, De’Andre Hunter figures to at least open the season as the starter. But he has already proven to be a capable bench scorer.

Hunter would be ahead of 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher if he did start. If Risacher proves he should be starting, keeping Hunter in a reserve role in Year 2 of his four-year, $90 million contract could be more tenable with the former on a rookie contract.