After a rocky first two years in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks have decided that they’ve seen enough from 24-year-old wing DeAndre’ Bembry, officially announcing the decision to pick up the fourth-year option on his rookie scale contract, valued at $2.6 million.
Unlike the decisions on teammates Taurean Prince and John Collins (seen as no-brainers), there was some question before the preseason whether Bembry would see his option picked up. Two years have passed since Bembry was selected with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, but he’s been unable to consistently crack the team’s rotation in that time, due to a number of freak injuries and some poor play when he was healthy.
However, things were better in preseason, so much so that management was comfortable with opting in to his contract for 2019-20.
The lack of any outside scoring punch really harms his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands and despite being a good passer in college, Bembry’s been turnover-prone at the NBA level. At this point, he hangs his hat on the defensive end, where he’s already an above-average wing stopper, but without much to show on the offensive end, he still has a long way to go before he’s a consistent, rotation-level player on a good team.
He did show some proclivity toward driving and finishing at the basket in preseason, which would be a nice addition to his game. Staying on the floor and producing when he gets his chances will be key for Bembry over the next two years to continue to build his career.