The Atlanta Hawks have had a busy start to the NBA offseason, to say the least.
A handful of veterans have left town via free agency and the trade market throughout the last few weeks, as the Hawks replaced their departures with the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kennard, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. It's going to be interesting to see if these changes are as impactful as they look on paper.
At the same time, certain former Hawks are struggling to put pen to paper this summer. The first week of free agency hasn't delivered desired results to a handful of the franchise's ex-players, including one unemployed big man.
Former Hawks PF/C Dominick Barlow Still Unemployed After 1st Week of Free Agency
As July continues, 22-year-old power forward/center Dominick Barlow still can't find a new NBA contract. The Hackensack, NJ native spent the 2024-25 campaign in the Hawks' system after being with the San Antonio Spurs for the first two seasons of his professional career.
Barlow made 35 appearances with the Hawks last season, which included four starts. Unfortunately, his performance wasn't much to write home about as the former Team Overtime product averaged 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and .531/.259/.636 shooting splits while playing over 10 minutes per outing.
It doesn't help that Barlow was a liability at both ends of the floor, proven by his negative offense and defensive box plus/minus ratings. No matter how it's sliced, he did very little to help the Hawks win whenever he suited up, making it easy for general manager Onsi Saleh to decline Barlow's $2.2 million team option on June 29.
The NBA is a 'what-have-you-done-for-me-lately' business, and Barlow's lackluster 2024-25 performance is the main reason why he's currently unsigned despite any potential he might have. Summer League and preseason injuries can happen at any time, though, meaning it might not be long before a potential suitor is desperate to roll the dice on his services.
In the meantime, it doesn't seem like Barlow is going to get signed soon, making his situation one that Hawks fans will want to monitor as the NBA offseason progresses.