Atlanta has John Collins starting at the four and soaking up the majority of minutes there. At the three they have talented young rookies lined up — De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish — but coach Lloyd Pierce would like a little depth and a guy he can count on just getting them some buckets.
Jabari Parker has agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Hawks to try to fill those roles. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news.
Free agent forward Jabari Parker has agreed to a two-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, league source tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2019
Sources: Jabari Parker is signing a two-year, $13M deal with the Hawks, with a player option in year two. https://t.co/MjQTdEuDaR
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2019
This is a good spot for Parker. He’s going to get minutes on an up-and-coming team, and if he exceeds expectations he can hit the market again next summer in what will be a weaker free agent class.
Parker can put the ball in the hole, he averaged 14.5 points and 6.6 rebounds a game last season splitting time between Chicago and Washington. He’s a very efficient scorer around the rim, but his three-point shot fell off last season (31.3 percent). The former No. 2 pick will never live up to that hype, the two ACL surgeries took their toll. Also, he is a serious defensive liability.
But the Hawks got a scorer off the bench who can fill a role for them, and did so at a fair price. This is a nice signing for both sides.