With the Gary Payton II drama coming to an end on Sunday evening, the NBA trade deadline concluded with Saddiq Bey finally becoming a member of the Atlanta Hawks. In addition to Bey, Atlanta also acquired Garrison Matthews and Bruno Fernando from the Rockets at the deadline in exchange for Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky III as part of what ESPN insider, Adrian Wojnarowski, described as a “cost cutting move for the Hawks”.
Below, let’s recap the trades and meet Atlanta’s newest additions!
Saddiq Bey
Cost: 5 future second-round draft picks
The 19th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Saddiq Bey is averaging 14.8 points per game this season, and will add a much needed scoring lift to an Atlanta bench-unit that currently ranks 22nd in points per game.
At 6’7”, he is capable of playing both the 3 and 4 positions and has shown the ability to space the floor on offense – shooting 35.7% on 6.7 three-point-attempts/game thus far in his young career. The number that should excite Hawks’ fans the most about Bey is his career 38.8% mark on catch-and-shoot threes, as the Hawks have infamously been amongst the worst spot-up shooting teams in the league this season. It’s worth noting however, that while Bey is an efficient catch-and-shoot shooter, he struggles when asked to put the ball on the floor, as his shooting efficiency tails off on pull-up attempts and shots at the rim. Defensively, Bey hasn’t quite impressed early on in his career, though he is averaging a career-high in steals this season with 1 swipe/game and doesn’t foul too much, so there are some positive signs.
With Bogdan Bogdanovic and A.J. Griffin seemingly solidified as the backup 2 and 3, I expect Bey to eat up most of Jalen Johnson’s minutes at the backup 4 position. While Johnson has shown flashes of brilliance this season, the Hawks’ offense has proven to be far more effective with a high-volume three-point shooter standing in the corner, and Johnson’s 28% clip on 1.5 three-point attempts/game this season simply isn’t cutting it. Bey isn’t afraid to shoot the three ball and is knocking down 42% of his corner threes this year per cleaningtheglass, so I expect him to slot in nicely into Atlanta’s offense.
Garrison Matthews & Bruno Fernando
Cost: Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky and 2 future second-round picks
Matthews:
An undrafted free agent out of Lipscomb back in 2019, Garrison Matthews spent two seasons in Washington before signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Rockets in 2021. Matthews is a career 36.5% shooter from three-point range, with over 85% of his shot attempts coming from beyond the arc. Unfortunately for Matthews, his three-point percentage has declined every year since he’s been in the NBA and is down to just 34.2% thus far in 2022-23.
Beyond his shooting ability, Matthews doesn’t offer too much else so it’s difficult to see him having a huge impact on the Hawks’ rotation going forwards, though he should be a fine addition to the locker room.
Fernando:
The 34th overall pick in 2019, Bruno Fernando began his career in Atlanta, spending two seasons with the Hawks before being traded to the Celtics as part of the three-team deal that netted the team Delon Wright prior to the 2021-22 NBA season.
Over the course of his career, Fernando has always made a positive impact on the defensive end of the floor. This season, despite playing just 11 minutes/game in Houston, Fernando is averaging 1 block/game, and is swatting 4% of his opponent’s shot attempts when he is on the floor (96th percentile relative to other bigs per cleaningtheglass). While Fernando is a solid defender, it’s fair to say that he is “limited” when it comes to scoring the basketball, as he is shooting just 52% from the field despite most of his shot attempts coming at the rim.
Fernando will slot into Frank Kaminsky’s spot as the team’s third center and will serve as an insurance policy for the team’s rim protection if one of Clint Capela or Onyeka Okongwu were to miss time.
