The Hawks waived Lamar Patterson on Tuesday.
The guard/forward had a non-guaranteed contract and the roster move clears the salary-cap space for the team to complete the signings of Dwight Howard and Kris Humphries. The Hawks have called a news conference for Wednesday to announce the signing of Howard, who agreed to a three-year, $70.5 million contract last week. Humphries agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal on Monday. He could sign his deal in the next several days.
Patterson currently plays for the Hawks’ entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. If he clears waivers at 5 p.m. Thursday he could re-join the Hawks team. The Hawks will find out Tuesday night when they will begin the double-elimination portion of the tournament. If they play Wednesday, Patterson would have to miss a game. If they play Thursday, he could rejoin the team if he goes unclaimed.
There also is a good chance that another NBA team claims Patterson, who had an $874,636 contract for next season. Patterson also could re-sign with the Hawks at some point.
The roster moves gives the Hawks 16 players under, or soon to be, under contract. They will have to eventually trim their roster to the league maximum of 15 before the start of the regular-season in October.
The Hawks traded for Patterson’s rights on draft night in 2014 after he was a second-round selection of the Bucks. He spent the 2014-15 season playing in Turkey. He joined the Hawks last season and appeared in 35 games and averaged 2.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. He also spent time in the NBA Development League with Austin and Canton.
Patterson started all three of the Hawks’ summer-league games. He has totaled 30 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
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