Kevin Huerter’s star rose considerably in the second half of last season. The wing’s defense took a leap, pairing that with his 3-point shooting and passing prowess, and ultimately became the Hawks’ Game 7 hero in the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. the Sixers.
Now, he’s up for a rookie extension, and those talks are still ongoing, per general manager Travis Schlenk. The Hawks’ goal is to get a deal done by the start of the season, though if it doesn’t happen, that doesn’t mean they won’t try to keep Huerter around and negotiate again next year.
That was the case with power forward John Collins, as negotiations went back-and-forth for a while, and Collins played through a contract year before ultimately agreeing to a five-year, $125 million deal with the Hawks in August.
“Certainly that’s the hope, to try and get something done (by the start of the season),” Schlenk said. “Negotiations are ongoing with (Huerter) and his representatives. I talked to his agent, as a matter of fact, last night. As I’ve said all along, we’re hopeful to get something done with Kevin, long-term, but if we don’t, that’s OK, too. As we saw last year with John, that certainly doesn’t mean that we’re not going to work hard next year in free agency to try to get Kevin wrapped up long-term.
“These things are kind of hard to predict on how things will go. They’re kind of hard to do. You’ve got a young player who’s continually gotten better and wants to be paid appropriately, so we’re hopeful, but I don’t have a sense, really, one way or the other, of if it’ll get done, to be candid with you. But we’re hopeful, and if it doesn’t, it certainly doesn’t mean we won’t work to get it done next year.”
About the Author
