Alex Len close to agreement with Hawks, per report

Per a report from Yahoo’s Shams Charania, the Atlanta Hawks are closing in on an agreement with unrestricted free agent center Alex Len.

The 25-year-old Len spent the last five years in Phoenix after being drafted fifth overall in 2013. Unable to find the offer he desired last offseason, he remained in limbo until late September, when he signed his qualifying offer to remain with the Suns but was swiftly renounced at the beginning of July when Phoenix had other plans with their cap space and didn’t plan on bringing him back. By almost every measure, he had the most successful year of his career this past season on both ends of the floor, though that isn’t saying much, as his offensive game was very poor throughout the term of his rookie-scale contract.

In a later tweet, Charania clarifies that the deal will run for two years and net Len $8.5 million, which will likely be the entirety of the Hawks’ Room Exception for this year without a major raise in Year 2 (the total maximum allowed would be $9.1 million).

The deal will be fully guaranteed, per The Athletic’s Michael Scotto:

Len will likely come off the bench behind starters John Collins and Dewayne Dedmon and compete with rookie Omari Spellman and Miles Plumlee for minutes at the center position. Charania notes in his report that Len “is expected to play a significant role” and, perhaps tellingly, does not mention Plumlee in the big man rotation for the Hawks.