Elton Brand is not ready to say goodbye. Not just yet anyway.
The Hawks center said he will take a couple of months before deciding if he will return for a 16th NBA season. Brand will be an unrestricted free agent after playing out his one-year $4 million contract with the Hawks.
“I’m going to rest a while, talk to the family, see what is going on with my son,” Brand said Monday as the Hawks held their season-ending interviews. “He is an avid basketball fan. He wouldn’t mind me playing but, my wife, we’ll see. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how I feel in a few months and make another run at it.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time and I love it. My body feels good. I didn’t miss any games due to injury so as long as I could still compete and help out a team, hopefully this team, we’ll see.”
Brand appeared in 73 regular season games, including 15 starts, and averaged 5.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. At one point, he was the only healthy center on the roster. The 34-year old joked that he played 42 minutes one game and should get at least one vote for team MVP.
Free agency: Mike Scott will be a restricted free agent this summer after the second-year player made considerable strides this season. Scott averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 80 regular-season games. He may have increased his price tag with his Game 5 performance in the playoffs against the Pacers.
“I’m just going to leave that to the GM and the coaching staff but of course I want to come back,” Scott said.
Shelvin Mack and Gustavo Ayon are also restricted free agents. Mack worked his way to become the backup point guard in the postseason.
“I would like to be back,” Mack said. “I’ll continue to work and improve my game and let my agent and everyone else deal with that. Of course (I want to return). I feel like it’s a great situation for me.”
Cartier Martin is an unrestricted free agent and said he would also welcome another opportunity in Atlanta.
Summer plans: DeMarre Carroll said he plans to spend his summer working on several aspects of his game. First and foremost, he will seek to improve his shooting ability.
“I want to get my shot automatic, like Kyle Korver,” Carroll said. “I want to be the African-American Kyle Korver.”
When told of Carroll’s remark, Korver responded: “I hope he does, man. I hope he does.”
Summer league: Coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed that rookies Mike Muscala and Dennis Schroder will play on the team's entry in the Las Vegas Summer League. Schroder said he received an invitation Monday to play with the German national team and would like to play for his country. But he said summer league is a priority.
John Jenkins will also play summer league for a third year following his recovery from season-ending back surgery.
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