Jeff Teague is the starting point guard in Atlanta and the Hawks are counting on Dennis Schroder to grow into the No. 2 role, ideally starting next season (in Las Vegas they had him working on running a team properly and being a defensive pest). He’s raw but talented.
The Hawks need a little security to back that up and have turned to Shelvin Mack, bringing back their own restricted free agent, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Mack was solid last season for the Hawks. He’s a bit streaky as a shooter (remember he got hot in Game 5 against the Pacers in the playoffs and dropped 20) but what he brought was consistency in running the team — he’s a deft passer plus he doesn’t turn the ball over — and a real sense of professionalism. He could be trusted.
Schroder isn’t there yet, this is a nice insurance policy at a fair price until that happens.
In other Atlanta Hawks news, they officially signed rookie Adreian Payne to his contract. He showed some potential at Summer League as a shooting big as he adapts to the NBA game.