After the Atlanta Hawks had one of their most successful seasons in franchise history, they’re heading into the Las Vegas Summer League with a slightly different makeup than last year.
Not that he was going to participate in Las Vegas, but DeMarre Carroll signed a four-year, $60 million deal with the Toronto Raptors during free agency as the Hawks look to replace a member of their starting five. Paul Millsap also flirted with leaving, but ended up signing a three-year, $59 million contract to stay in Atlanta.
In the 2015 NBA Draft, the Hawks had the No. 15 overall pick but traded it to the Washington Wizards in a three-way deal. The Hawks acquired Tim Hardaway Jr. from the New York Knicks and two future second-round selections from the Wizards as a result of the transaction. The No. 15 pick, meanwhile, ended up being Kelly Oubre Jr., a freshman shooting guard out of Kansas. Atlanta selected a shooting guard out of Sweden, Marcus Eriksson, with the 50th-overall pick, and a forward from Greece, Dimitrios Agravanis, with the 59th overall selection. Thus, no rookie is coming in to boost Hawks ticket sales, but they don’t necessarily need that given their strong nucleus of talent.
Atlanta will look for bench depth through undrafted free agents. Brandon Ashley from Arizona, Jon Horford (Al’s brother) from Michigan and Terran Petteway out of Nebraska are the 2015 undrafted free agent camp invites. Second-round pick from 2014, Walter Tavares, will be on the roster, along with 2014 undrafted free agents Abraham Millsap, Mike Moser, DeAndre Kane, Stephen Holt and Josh Davis.
With the Hawks reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, the basketball season is becoming a year-round thing for fans. Hipmunk.com provides Las Vegas flights for Atlanta fans looking to get their basketball fix early. Sin City can’t be done in one night—Hipmunk also has hotels in Las Vegas starting from $20 to complete a destination basketball vacation.
The Las Vegas Summer League lasts from July 10-20. The Hawks’ first game is slated for July 10 when they face the Denver Nuggets at COX Pavilion, followed by a game on July 12 against the defending champion Golden State Warriors at the Thomas & Mack Center. The league features 24 teams, including a D-League Select team.
