Shelvin Mack’s circuitous journey continues.
Mack will remain in the NBA for the immediate future after he won the battle for the Hawks’ third point guard position in training camp. The team waived veteran Royal Ivey, his final competitor, Friday.
Although Mack is on a non-guaranteed contract he has come a long way from last season when he played for three teams and signed four 10-day contracts.
“I have to keep working, keep grinding,” Mack said. “I understand that my contract is still not fully guaranteed. It’s one of those steps you have to go through. First you have to make the team. Then you have to be able to compete for playing time.
“It’s real rewarding, but you have to understand that this is the NBA, and every position is up for grabs.”
The Hawks trimmed their roster to 16 players. They must waive at least one more player by 5 p.m. Monday, the deadline for opening-day rosters to be set.
Mack appeared in four exhibition games and played a total of 60 minutes this preseason. He had 15 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds, five steals and eight turnovers. In 20 games with the Hawks last season, after being signed after the season-ending injury to Lou Williams, Mack averaged 5.2 points and 2.2 assists in 13.4 minutes.
Mack will play behind Jeff Teague and rookie Dennis Schroder.
Mack was waived by the Wizards in January. They selected him in the second round of the 2011 NBA draft. He signed two 10-day contracts with the 76ers in January. He signed another two 10-day contracts with the Hawks in March before he agreed to a two-year deal.
“Shelvin’s had a lot of good moments,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “There is a lot of respect for the way Shelvin finished the year last year — his overall demeanor, offensively, defensively. For a young guy, he is very professional. He played well.
“It’s a hard decision. When you get down to making those kinds of decisions, (it’s) small things. To say one thing or another (about the competition) is really unfair to everybody. We’re happy Shelvin is part of the group, and we’ll move on from there.”
Ivey was trying for a second go-around with the Hawks as a non-roster training-camp invitee. He played three seasons here after being a second-round pick in 2004 and also played with the Bucks, 76ers and Thunder in his nine-year career.
During the preseason, Ivey appeared in three exhibition games and played 54 minutes. He finished with 11 points, eight assists, six rebounds, four steals and four turnovers. In the loss to the Pacers on Tuesday he committed four turnovers in 9 1/2 minutes. He did not play in the exhibition-finale loss to the Mavericks on Wednesday.
“This is the nature of the business,” Ivey said last week when asked about the competition with Mack. “We are competing for a spot. The best guy is going to win the spot. There are no hard feelings. It’s a business.”
Forward Eric Dawson is the likely candidate to be the final player waived. The non-roster invitee has seen limited action in the preseason. He has appeared in three exhibitions and played 34 minutes, with nine points and 12 rebounds.
Etc.: Al Horford (strained right hamstring) was a full practice participant Friday. The center did not travel to Dallas for the final exhibition game because of the injury. The Hawks were off Thursday after back-to-back games. … Paul Millsap (sore left Achilles), who did not play in the final two exhibition games, did not fully participate in practice. "Paul is still nursing the Achilles, and he's a little banged up in general," Budenholzer said. "It's really one of those things that is day-to-day, but I don't anticipate it is anything that is going to keep him out or hold him back. … No court date has been set for Budenholzer on his DUI charge that was moved to the State Court of Fulton County earlier this month. The scheduling a hearing in the court can be a lengthy process.
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