It does not appear that Edy Tavares’ first stint in the NBA Development League will be a long one.
The 7-foot-3 center was assigned to the D-League on Tuesday night. He will play for Austin, a destination determined by the flexible assignment process on Wednesday. Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer spoke of the Tavares assignment before Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans and indicated he will be back soon to continue his development.
“You’ve heard it for a couple years how much we believe in the D-League,” Budenholzer said. “You have to play to develop. I think he gets a lot of great individual attention between the medical staff and the assistant coaches, 3-on-3s and 4-on-4s but there is a 5-on-5 piece and it all fits together like a puzzle. I believe strongly in the D-League so he’s going to get a chance to play a few games.”
Tavares, a second-round pick in 2014, has appeared in just two games this season and played a total of two minutes. Budenholzer said in Tavares initial D-League stint the he will be accompanied by a member of the medical staff and possibly an assistant coach to help acclimate the native of Cape Verde to new surroundings. The coach also said members of the front office will be in attendance to watch the games and be part of a support system.
Budenholzer said there are different philosophies in sending a player to the D-League.
“Each player is different,” Budenholzer said. “Some guy you might send down for a month or two and be great. Another guy you’ll keep going back and forth. Some guys there is more of a body piece with strength and conditioning and they really need to be with us. There are some guys with the body piece they are what they are and they just need to play.
“With (Tavares), he’s probably going to be with us quite a bit. We’ll see how this little (stint) goes. I’m excited to see him play. I’m sure he’s still processing how all this D-League stuff works. We won’t put too much into this first one.”
Austin is the Spurs’ affiliate and plays a similar system as the Hawks. Austin has games scheduled Friday and Saturday.
