Chris Vivlamore of the AJC is reporting that the Atlanta Hawks are sending both John Jenkins and Adreian Payne to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, not to be confused with the St. Paul River Rats, for what could be an extended period of time.
Earlier this year, the Hawks brass elected to not pick up John Jenkins’ fourth-year team option signaling the end of a relationship that never developed like most expected it to. Perhaps by sending Jenkins to the D-League he can increase his potential trade value, probably not, though.
The Hawks have been herky jerky when it comes to Payne, though, and keeping him in the D-League for the rest of the season, or at least the majority of it, would be the best option for him when it comes to 2014-15. Payne’s battled a nagging foot injury to start this campaign, hasn’t found a spot in the rotation, and needs to be getting minutes somewhere to get back to where he was in Summer League.
I’m a big proponent of utilizing the D-League, but with the Hawks not having their own affiliate yet, perhaps keeping Payne and other young players like Mike Muscala, Jenkins and others in Fort Wayne, Indiana with a team that doesn’t run the Hawks’ scheme may not be for the best. It’s tricky, and I’m not sure there is a perfect solution until the Hawks get a team of their own and can utilize it like the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder (notice what these three teams have in common? Oh yeah, they’re really good at developing young players).
