Atlanta Hawks make $8M deal for Saddiq Bey: report

The Atlanta Hawks will allow forward Saddiq Bey to play in unrestricted free agency, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojanrowski.

Bey is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in March and is expected to miss the start of the regular season. Today was the deadline for the Hawks to tender a qualifying offer to Bey, which would have made him a restricted free agent.

Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer said Atlanta might not fight to keep Bey on the “Hawks Report” podcast.

Instead, Bey will hit the open market at an interesting time for both him and teams, as the CBA becomes more restrictive on big-spending teams.

“ESPN Sources: Atlanta Hawks will not make a qualifying offer to advance Saddiq Bey, paving the way for him to become an unrestricted free agent,” Wojnarowski reported on X on June 29.

The Hawks acquired Bey from the Pistons in a three-way trade with the Golden State Warriors for a handful of 2022 second-round picks. Bey, 25, averaged 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season.

He has worked his way into an unexpected key piece of the starting lineup, providing solid rebounding on both ends of the court.

But his three-point shooting has betrayed him. A career 35.2 percent shooter from beyond the arc, Bey shot 31.6 percent from deep last season. He had shot 40 percent in a smaller 27-game sample size after the Hawks acquired him at the trade deadline from the Detroit Pistons in 2023.

“He is expected to make a full recovery“, Wojnarowski posted. “He’s averaged 14 points with the Pistons and Hawks since arriving as the 19th overall pick in the 2020 draft.”

Bey’s qualifying bid was reportedly worth $8.5 million.

“Eligible offers count “Against the apron,” Bobby Marks, an ESPN management insider who spent 20 years managing the Brooklyn Nets, said of the decision. “Bey’s QO would have pushed Atlanta against the first apron.”

The Hawks were sitting pretty 12 million dollars under the first apron after their trades, sending Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans and AJ Griffin to the Houston Rockets, according to Marks.

Bey’s rumored release — he could still re-sign with the Hawks in free agency — comes on the heels of the 2024 NBA draft. It also follows the Hawks extending a two-way qualifying offer to 2023 second-round pick Seth Lundy.

Lundy is smaller than Bey, but he could be more consistent in his three-point shooting.

Perhaps most important for the Hawks as they navigate this roster transition: Lundy is significantly less expensive than Bey, who should also compete with top pick Zaccharie Risacher.

Neither decision clarifies the status of De’Andre Hunter or even Bogdan Bogdanovic amid reports that Risacher and Jalen Johnson are the only Hawks off-limits in trade talks this offseason.