Gary Neal needed a chance.
The Hawks needed a third point guard.
The Hawks saw enough of Neal after three NBA Development League games to be confident that his surgically repaired hip was ready.
Neal, 32, signed a 10-day contract with the Hawks on Wednesday. He underwent surgery for a microfracture labrum repair and an impingement removal in April. He wasn’t able to play competitive basketball until December. He signed with the Westchester Knicks, played one game and was traded to the Texas Legends. Neal played two games with the Legends before he worked out with the Hawks and signed several days later.
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer was with Neal for three seasons in San Antonio.
“Basketball-wise, Bud’s been around me for three years,” Neal said Friday before the Hawks hosted the Bulls. “He has a pretty good idea of the type of player I am and what I’m capable of. It’s more to see where I’m at conditioning and where I’m at with my hip strength coming off the surgery.
“That was pretty much why I had to go to the D-League. I wasn’t cleared, capable or even able to play at the level like the D-League or the NBA until the first of December. With a lot of teams in the middle of the season, the D-League was the best option for me to get an opportunity to show teams I was able to play again.”
Neal joins the Hawks to fill the role of a third point guard, a position the team has gone without the first half of the season.
“The way the roster has been laid out, we feel like we’re OK with two point guards, but if there was something we wanted to address when there was an opportunity, it was to bring in a third guy that gives us that cover,” Budenholzer said.
The 6-foot-4 guard played for the Spurs from 2010-13 after playing abroad. He has also played for the Bucks, Hornets, Timberwolves and Wizards. In 350 career NBA games, Neal averaged 9.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
In his three D-League games he averaged 15.3 points, 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds.
“(Budenholzer) doesn’t do everything the same as San Antonio, but it’s really similar,” Neal said. “The terminology and understanding definitely helps for sure.”
Neal made his debut for the Hawks during the blowout loss to the Pistons on Wednesday just hours after his signing. He played 13 minutes and had four points, all from the free-throw line, one assist and one rebound.
Neal is from Baltimore. He played collegiately at LaSalle and Towson. Neal played high school basketball with Vincent Delaney, the older brother of Hawks guard Malcolm Delaney.
Neal’s 10-day contract runs through Jan. 27. The Hawks can sign him to a second 10-day contract before releasing him or signing him for the remainder of the season.
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