The Hawks added Garrison Mathews at the trade deadline last season, and now they look to keep him in the fold.
The team guaranteed Mathews’ $2 million contract for next season, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Hawks acquired Mathews from the Rockets on Feb. 9 to add a little more shooting to their rotation. But with several players more established in the Hawks’ rotation, Mathews averaged nine minutes per game over nine games.
He made the most of them, though. He knocked down 40% of his 3-point shots and also provided the Hawks with some defensive depth with his intensity.
With Mathews now guaranteed for a season, the Hawks have 11 players with guaranteed deals. That does not include the rookie scale contract that the team will owe its first-round pick, Kobe Bufkin.
The team and Bruno Fernando agreed to extend the deadline for his $2.6 million deal to July 10. Before the extension they had until 5 p.m. Thursday to make a decision. Both the team and Fernando had to agree to the extension, and it now opens some options for the Hawks as they navigate free agency.
The Hawks did open up some cap space after they traded forward John Collins to the Jazz for Rudy Gay and a second-round pick. According to people familiar with the situation, the Hawks likely will try to trade Gay or waive him if they cannot broker a deal.
As for now, here is where the Hawks’ roster stands.
PG: Trae Young, Kobe Bufkin, *Vit Krejci
SG: Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Garrison Mathews, *Tyrese Martin
SF: De’Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, Rudy Gay, AJ Griffin, Seth Lundy
PF: Jalen Johnson, Mouhamed Gueye
C: Clint Capela, Onyeka Okongwu, *Bruno Fernando
*Players listed with asterisks are under nonguaranteed contracts.
The Hawks still have decisions to make on their second-round picks in Mouhamed Gueye and Seth Lundy. They traded to acquire the draft rights to Gueye at No. 39 and stood pat at No. 46 to take Lundy.
The two rookies likely will spend much of their time in College Park with the Skyhawks of the G League, along with Miles Norris, who the team signed to a two-way contract on draft night.
