The Hawks have assigned center Edy Tavares to the NBA Development League. The Hawks do not have a D-League affiliate therefore the 7-foot-3 center will be assigned a team by the flexible assignment process, which can typically take 24-48 hours.
The Hawks are one of 11 NBA teams that currently do not have a D-League affiliate with all current 19 teams singularly affiliated. According to the system, upon receipt of an assignment from an independent NBA team, the D-League will identify any team willing to accept the assigned player. The assigning independent NBA team will then choose the destination for assignment between any of those teams. If no D-League team is willing to accept the assigned player, he will be assigned to by lottery.
Last season, the Hawks first-round pick Adreian Payne was assigned to the Austin Spurs for several stints and John Jenkins to the Idaho Stampeded via the flexible assignment system. Austin, which plays a system similar to the Hawks, hosts the Texas Legends on Friday and travels to the Oklahoma City Blue on Saturday.
Tavares, a second-round pick in 2014 who spent last season playing in Spain, has appeared in just two games this season for a total of two minutes. He has one point and one rebound. He has been on the inactive list in six games, including Monday’s game against the Timberwolves.
The Hawks believe playing time is critical part of their player development process. The have used the D-League in the past with current players such as Mike Scott, Mike Muscala and Dennis Schroder to get the valuable court time.
The D-League will expand next season and the Hawks are looking to have their own franchise, possibly in 2017.
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