Edy Tavares, Lamar Patterson headed back to to D-League; short bench for Hawks

Edy Tavares and Lamar Patterson have been assigned to the D-League on a number of occasions during the 2015-2016 season, and the Atlanta Hawks have pulled the trigger on another deployment with the Austin Spurs as of Friday.

Tavares, who has played in 12 D-League games this season, is of particular note in this instance, as the loss of Tiago Splitter puts the Hawks in a precarious position as far as frontcourt depth. Atlanta is left with only two traditional centers with Al Horford and Mike Muscala, but Mike Budenholzer indicated the move is about "prioritizing Edy's development" and that the team remains aggressive in utilizing the D-League.

As for Patterson, the 24-year-old swingman has fallen completely out of the the rotation since Jan. 3 (when he played 9 minutes in a win over Houston), making this a less surprising move. The addition of Kirk Hinrich also comes into play with Patterson, as Hinrich can serve as the "emergency" point guard while, at least theoretically, providing Budenholzer with another backup shooting guard in Patterson's absence.

The Austin Spurs, presumably including Tavares and Patterson, will take the floor at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, when they take on the Oklahoma City Blue. Stay tuned.