Taylor, Bembry, Cavanaugh assigned to G League; Magette recalled to Atlanta

The Atlanta Hawks have 17 available players and, with the exception of DeAndre’ Bembry, each one of them is healthy. That can create some rotation questions for a head coach and, on Thursday morning, the Hawks made a move that should make things easier for Mike Budenholzer while simultaneously providing playing time for everyone.

The Hawks announced that Isaiah Taylor, DeAndre’ Bembry and Tyler Cavanaugh are headed to Erie to join the franchise’s G League affiliate. In their stead, two-way point guard Josh Magette will be returning to Atlanta for the first time in weeks.

Bembry’s status is clouded with injury, as reports indicated that he isn’t necessarily close to returning to action. Still, this move might signal a positive step in that regard and allow him to work his way back with care.

Elsewhere, Taylor has been overtaken by Malcolm Delaney as the team’s backup point guard and, as a result, his playing time has waned. Cavanaugh faces a similar plight with the return of Dewayne Dedmon (and even Mike Muscala) which paves the way for this move.

With Taylor heading to Erie, it also makes sense to recall Magette to Atlanta. If nothing else, the Hawks would likely want three available point guards (even if Magette was inactive on some nights) and, from a logistical sense, removing Magette from the equation at Erie also allows Taylor to receive full-time deployment at the point guard position, which presumably would be the desire of the Hawks.

In the grand scheme, these moves appear development-related for all parties and, for the Atlanta rotation, the only direct impact could be an uptick in the playing time for Mike Muscala. Still, it is always noteworthy when four roster moves happen simultaneously and, well, here we are.

Stay tuned.