INDIANAPOLIS -- The Hawks have made their decision about the roster they’ll take into the postseason. They opted not to sign Vit Krejci to a standard contract and will instead keep him on a two-way deal, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Keeping Krejci on a two-way deal will make him ineligible to play in next Wednesday’s Eastern Conference Play-In game. But it allows the Hawks some roster-building flexibility in the future. The Hawks had until tipoff of the game against the Pacers to make their decision.
Krejci, who enters the offseason as a restricted free agent can negotiate deals with other teams and the Hawks will have the chance to match it if they want to keep him.
The Hawks did not have an open roster spot that would make the signing of Krejci to a standard deal. So the Hawks would have needed to waive someone on the roster to make a conversion possible. While the team mulled over their choices, they opted not to waive anyone.
With the move, the Hawks have opted to think about the bigger picture with building out their roster. The team could have two first-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft and first-rounders cannot be signed to two-way contracts.
The Hawks currently have two players on the roster signed to expiring contracts. They also have plenty of decisions on contract extensions and they’ll have quite a bit of shuffling in the offseason.
