Atlanta Hawks: The Reasons Four Highly Coveted Players Were Retained
Kent Bazemore
Kent Bazemore has had his name thrown around in trade rumors for quite some time. The fact that Kent is a long athletic wing player, who can shoot the ball from outside and is a decent defender, means there are always teams that inquire about his services. Weeks ago in this article, I looked at Bazemore trade scenarios.
Kent Bazemore has played well this season, posting averages of 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. The 13.2 points per game scoring average is currently a career high.
Bazemore is shooting 44.1 percent from the field and a career best 52 percent from two point range. Kent is also knocking down 32.4 percent of his three points attempts.
A major factor in the fact that Kent Bazemore wasn’t traded, was the timing of his injury. Bazemore missed 14 games due to a right ankle injury. He only returned for four games prior to the trade deadline, playing less than 19 minutes in each contest.
The timing of the injury could not have been worse for Kent Bazemore and the Atlanta Hawks. The injury occurred just two games after Bazemore scored a career high 32 points.
Kent who often struggles with consistency, was in the midst of an eight game streak of scoring in double figures. He scored at least 20 points in five of those eight ballgames.
Another reason that Kent Bazemore is still a member of the Atlanta Hawks, is his lofty salary. Kent is on the books for 18.1 million dollars this season. He is also certain to exercise his 19.3 million dollar option for next season.
His salary makes it nearly impossible to trade Kent Bazemore, without taking back salary past this season. Very few contending teams have the cap space or expiring contracts to absorb Bazemore’s 18.1 million dollar contract.
While I was hopeful that the Atlanta Hawks could find a suitable contender that would give them an exciting young prospect and a first round draft pick and salary filler for Bazemore, I certainly understand how that was too daunting of a task.
So for the foreseeable future Kent Bazemore will remain with the Atlanta Hawks in a bench role. He has relinquished his spot as the team’s starting shooting guard to rookie Kevin Huerter. This saga is far from done, as Bazemore trade talks are certain to resurface this offseason.
Kent Bazemore’s Stats
| Season | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 23 | GSW | SG | 61 | 0 | 4.4 | 0.7 | 1.9 | .371 | 0.2 | 0.6 | .294 | 0.5 | 1.3 | .402 | .414 | .614 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
| 2013-14 | 24 | TOT | SG | 67 | 15 | 13.6 | 2.2 | 5.1 | .429 | 0.6 | 1.9 | .336 | 1.6 | 3.2 | .484 | .491 | .606 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 6.0 |
| 2013-14 | 24 | GSW | SG | 44 | 0 | 6.1 | 0.8 | 2.2 | .371 | 0.2 | 0.9 | .256 | 0.6 | 1.3 | .448 | .423 | .528 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
| 2013-14 | 24 | LAL | SG | 23 | 15 | 28.0 | 4.8 | 10.7 | .451 | 1.4 | 3.9 | .371 | 3.4 | 6.8 | .497 | .518 | .644 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 13.1 |
| 2014-15 | 25 | ATL | SG | 75 | 10 | 17.7 | 1.9 | 4.4 | .426 | 0.6 | 1.8 | .364 | 1.2 | 2.7 | .467 | .498 | .600 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 5.2 |
| 2015-16 | 26 | ATL | SF | 75 | 68 | 27.8 | 4.3 | 9.7 | .441 | 1.5 | 4.1 | .357 | 2.8 | 5.6 | .502 | .517 | .815 | 0.4 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 11.6 |
| 2016-17 | 27 | ATL | SF | 73 | 64 | 26.9 | 4.0 | 9.9 | .409 | 1.3 | 3.6 | .346 | 2.8 | 6.2 | .446 | .473 | .708 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 11.0 |
| 2017-18 | 28 | ATL | SG | 65 | 65 | 27.5 | 4.4 | 10.4 | .420 | 1.7 | 4.2 | .394 | 2.7 | 6.2 | .438 | .500 | .796 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 12.9 |
| 2018-19 | 29 | ATL | SG | 42 | 30 | 25.7 | 4.8 | 10.8 | .441 | 1.4 | 4.4 | .324 | 3.3 | 6.4 | .520 | .507 | .727 | 0.5 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 13.2 |
| Career | 458 | 252 | 20.6 | 3.1 | 7.3 | .425 | 1.0 | 2.9 | .355 | 2.1 | 4.5 | .470 | .495 | .719 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 8.7 | |||
| 5 seasons | ATL | 330 | 237 | 25.0 | 3.8 | 8.8 | .427 | 1.3 | 3.5 | .359 | 2.5 | 5.3 | .472 | .498 | .742 | 0.4 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 10.5 | ||
| 2 seasons | GSW | 105 | 0 | 5.1 | 0.8 | 2.0 | .371 | 0.2 | 0.7 | .274 | 0.6 | 1.3 | .421 | .418 | .575 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.1 | ||
| 1 season | LAL | 23 | 15 | 28.0 | 4.8 | 10.7 | .451 | 1.4 | 3.9 | .371 | 3.4 | 6.8 | .497 | .518 | .644 | 0.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.2 | 13.1 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/12/2019.