Hawks point guard Jarrett Jack to miss start of regular season

The Atlanta Hawks have been operating without veteran point guard Jarrett Jack for the entirety of the preseason and, on Tuesday evening, head coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed that the team will be shorthanded at the position into the regular season. When prompted about an updated timeline for Jack’s return from right knee surgery, Budenholzer declined to provide specifics, but he did indicate that it was safe to assume Jack would miss the regular season opener on Oct. 27 against the Washington Wizards.

In Jack’s stead, the Hawks will turn to Malcolm Delaney, who Budenholzer spoke highly of as a backup point guard on Tuesday. The 27-year-old rookie has spent his entire professional career in Europe, but Atlanta inked the former Virginia Tech standout to a two-year contract in July with full knowledge that he could serve in this role should Jack’s rehabilitation slow in any way and Delaney has been largely effective in four preseason contests.

At this stage, it is probably too early to decipher what Atlanta’s plan will be behind Dennis Schröder once Jack returns to full health but, at the very least, it appears as if Malcolm Delaney is going to have a sizable head start. Stay tuned.