New contract for Hawks’ Keaton Wallace a blessing, but more to achieve

The Hawks affirmed the work that guard Keaton Wallace has put in over the last few years. On Saturday, the team converted Wallace from a two-way contract to a standard deal.

That work, of course, started well before he went undrafted in 2021. But the 26-year-old guard has steadily seen the payoff over the last three season.

“Keaton has earned this opportunity,” Hawks General Manager Onsi Saleh said in a statement shared by the team. “He embodies the traits we look for with the Atlanta Hawks — relentlessness, adaptability, coachability and selflessness. The conversion of his contract is also a credit to our pillar of player development and the importance of our partnership with the College Park Skyhawks.”

The Hawks acquired Wallace’s G League rights from the Ontario Clippers, the affiliate of the Clippers in 2023. After signing him in September 2023, the Hawks waived him shortly after so that they could retain his G League rights.

He spent the entire 2023 season with the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League affiliate, where he worked with team assistant Ryan Schmidt.

He also had to balance the mental aspect of the back and forth between the NBA and the G League.

“Everybody’s two-way is different,” he said. “I can only speak for mines, but it’s difficult. Honestly, it’s difficult because you playing on one team, you’re trying to build chemistry with this team, with the G League and we’re all fighting for, you know, three two-way spots. So it’s kind of a quote, unquote, ‘crabs in a barrel’ kind of situation. But at the same time, you got to find some type of camaraderie, because you need to win. You need each other.”

He added that the shifting dynamics can also impact his mental attitude.

“Being on the two way, you’re kind of the guy in G League,” Wallace said. “Then when you get moved up to the NBA team, now you’re one of the lower tier guys, just contract wise. So just being able to manage, your confidence, manage your ego, manage your mental ... it takes a toll on you.”

The Dallas, Texas, native recognizes that he got the opportunity to showcase himself and not everyone has that chance.

But Wallace, who found out about the change in contract following practice, would be the first to tell anyone he did not do the work alone.

“I want to credit coach (Ashton) Smith for working with me on both sides,” Wallace said after practice Monday. “He’s been my PD (player development) coach all the last year, and we’ve been grinding for a long time, consistent reps. We in here at the practice at night, like I want to credit him. AG (Ashton Gibbs), he’s not on staff with us anymore, but we still do his ball-handling routine that we started last year. So, that’s carried over into this year.”

Wallace also shared his gratitude for Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh, as well as assistant general manager Kyle Korver and Hawks coach Quin Snyder.

“Just for believing in me,” Wallace said. “Converting me to take me to that next step from two-way to a standard. Just you know, the confidence that they have in me to play the backup point guard position.”

The Hawks guard also joked that now he does not have to yell to his teammate to trust him with the ball in his hands. Now, they just do.

“They just trust me like, ‘You the QB on the floor now,’” Wallace said. “So, I want to thank my teammates. I know I didn’t name everybody, but thank the staff, thank the organization, my teammates, and College Park and the fans.”