Hawks waive Sharife Cooper from Two-Way contract

Sharife Cooper’s time as an Atlanta Hawk has come to a close. The team today announced that they have requested waivers on the young guard mere days after he signed his qualifying offer to return on a Two-Way contract.

Cooper, an Atlanta native who attended nearby Auburn University for one season, was drafted 48th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. He spent all of last regular season on the same Two-Way contract and spent the majority of his time with the College Park Skyhawks of the G League. Cooper averaged 17.4 points, 6.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds in a strong campaign with the Hawks’ G League affiliate.

Sharife Cooper joined the Hawks’ 2022 Las Vegas Summer League team for the second summer in a row, but he found considerably less success this time around. Hampered by a hurt thumb on his shooting hand, Cooper averaged just 4.4 points, 4.2 assists and 1.2 rebounds as well as below 20% shooting from the field across five games, which seems to have contributed to the decision by the organization to move on from the 21-year-old.

Once he likely clears waivers, he will be free to sign with any of the other 29 teams as a Two-Way player or in a full contact capacity. On Atlanta’s side, this move opens up another Two-Way contract slot for the Hawks to bring on someone else in Cooper’s place to pair with Chaundee Brown Jr.