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We are three days into the NBA's silly season and there is a lot of rumors and a lot of waiting going on. So far we have seen the Atlanta Hawks linked to the likes of big names like Luol Deng, Greg Monroe and even Pau Gasol. Perhaps its their interest in Kent Bazemore that is making the most noise. However, ESPN's Dave McMenamin reports that Atlanta has also reached out to the Lakers' Nick Young as have several other teams.
Nick Young heard from Atlanta along with the Lakers, as well as "several other teams registering interest," according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein.
Young averaged a career best 17.9 points while shooting 44 percent last season. He is long and a career 38 percent shooter from three-point range and in many ways he would appear to fit into what the Hawks need on the wing. That is, if he would be willing to buy into the program.
The way the free agency period has opened gives us a little pause. There are a lot of rumors flying but if you use last year as a guide then many are likely agent driven. The Atlanta Hawks are one of the teams with quite a bit of cap space available so it is naturally advantageous to have them linked to certain players as incentives for driving up the price.
No doubt the Hawks have checked in on probably a number of players but that doesn't mean they are actively courting them or interested in signing them.
The market for Kent Bazemore is a great example where a number of teams are reportedly interested. Are a number of teams actually interested in Bazemore for his potential? Yes probably but are they willing to overpay? Probably not.
Just remember the first reports we got last year of the Hawks signing Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll were not that they were talking but that they had agreed to a contract.