On Friday, the Atlanta Hawks agreed to a contract with veteran free agent wing Wesley Matthews, increasing their roster to 17 players under contract for the 2023-24 season.
Needing to cut someone as a result of this transaction, the Hawks have decided to part ways with 2022 second-round pick Tyrese Martin. According to an official release from the team, the Hawks waived the 51st overall pick in last year's draft on Friday afternoon.
Originally drafted by the Warriors, Martin had his rights traded to Atlanta the night of the draft along with cash considerations in exchange for guard Ryan Rollins. This offseason, the Warriors traded Rollins to the Washington Wizards as part of the Chris Paul-Jordan Poole trade.
Martin, 24, spent the 2022-23 season with the Hawks on a multi-year contract that had certain guarantee stipulations every year past his rookie season. In 16 games with Atlanta, Martin scored just 21 total points on 9-23 shooting, roughly 39 percent.
He did participate in Summer League with the Hawks earlier this month, playing in all five games. In Las Vegas, Martin averaged 13.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from three-point range. Martin finished Summer League as the Hawks' second-best scorer behind rookie guard Kobe Bufkin.
After waiving Martin, the Hawks now sit at 16 occupied roster spots. Guard Vit Krejci also has a non-guaranteed clause on his contract for this season and could be the next player to be released by the team in order for them to have 15 players on their roster.
This has been an interesting offseason for the Hawks as a whole, as they have been involved in quite a few rumors and trades. John Collins was dealt to the Utah Jazz before free agency began and after having his name pop up in trade rumors, Atlanta signed All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to a new four-year, $120 million extension. The team was also involved in a bunch of smaller deals this offseason that involved salary fillers and draft picks, resulting in them landing veteran Patty Mills.
In Quin Snyder's first full season as the head coach in Atlanta, the Hawks will be looking to take a big step forward towards being championship contenders once more. It was not too long ago this team was in the Eastern Conference Finals and they will be looking to rekindle some of this magic with Trae Young as their leader once more.
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