Sometimes life does not go according to plan, and right now, Hawks guard Keaton Wallace is OK with that.
In four days, Wallace, who has a two-way contract with the Hawks, played four games in four cities in two countries. He’s hopped on three flights to suit up for two teams in two leagues. But for him, it’s been a good problem to have. From Dec. 27-30, Wallace traveled an approximate distance of 2,286 miles between Orlando, Atlanta, Toronto and then back to Atlanta.
He suited up for the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League affiliate, on Friday against the Osceola Magic before returning to Atlanta on Saturday to face the Heat. He traveled with the Hawks that night to Toronto for the team’s matchup against the Raptors on Sunday before returning to Atlanta to face the Windy City Bulls of the G League on Monday.
In four days, Wallace played 57 G League minutes, as well as 29.07 NBA minutes for a grand total of 86.07 minutes.
“I’ve been feeling all right,” Wallace told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This is part of the process of being converted to a two-way (contract). I’m just accepting everything that comes with it.”
Wallace became the fourth NBA/G League player this year to play four games in four days joining Bulls forward Matas Buzelis, Wizards guard Johnny Davis, and Thunder forward Adam Flagler. Of the four players, Wallace played the most minutes and traveled the most miles in his four-game stretch:
The Hawks signed Wallace to a two-way contract in July during their trip to Summer League in Las Vegas after he spent all of the previous season with the Skyhawks.
After spending training camp with the Hawks at the end of September and the beginning of October, Wallace fully expected that he would play the majority of his minutes with the Skyhawks.
But the Hawks began the season with injuries to five of their nine main rotational players. Hawks sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin, missed the first 10 games of the season with a shoulder injury, and the team has since shut him down for the season, with surgery scheduled for Jan. 7. Hawks wing Bogdan Bogdanovic has missed 13 of the first 15 games of the season. Hawks guard Dyson Daniels missed two early games this season with a right hip flexor strain. While guard Vit Krejci missed 10 games with a right adductor strain.
“(Things) are not going as planned, in a good way,” Wallace said. “So, I didn’t know that I would be playing rotational minutes early in the season with the Hawks. It kind of just happened due to our injuries, and I ended up having a lot of time with the Hawks and after we got back healthy, I went back to the G League for a little while.”
After averaging just 2.6 minutes, which came in garbage time, the Hawks leaned heavily on Wallace. His average minutes per game increased by 16.3 minutes as the Hawks relied on him to give guard Trae Young a blow.
He gave the Hawks some solid minutes, including a big helping hand in their NBA Cup Group Play win over the Celtics on Nov. 12, where he dished a career-high eight assists. He scored a career-best 14 points in the Hawks’ Nov. 1 loss to the Kings, knocking down four of his eight 3-point attempts. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.2 assists in the 10 games in which he played heavy rotational minutes.
Once the Hawks got healthy again, Wallace returned to the G League, where he is averaging 15.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game, all while shooting 38.6% from deep. Because the Hawks signed Wallace to a two-way contract, the team can make the guard active for only 50 games, regardless of whether he plays.
But to ensure they continue developing him, sending him to the G League gives him time to play valuable minutes.
“I’m used to being in the G League. So going to training camp with the G League I’m starting the season with the G League versus this season. I kind of came in during the middle of our Showcase Cup schedule games. So, it’s been a lot different than the previous years, but like I said, in a good way.”
That doesn’t mean the travel doesn’t take a toll. When Wallace travels with the Hawks, he joins them on their charter flight to each destination. When he shuttles back and forth solo, he catches commercial flights, enduring some of the cramped cabins.
“It definitely takes a toll on your body,” Wallace said. “Just traveling in the air, the plane rides and all it takes toll on your body being squished up in a seat. I play a lot of minutes with a G league, and I play a good amount of rotational with the Hawks and just flying back and forth. It takes a toll on you mentally and physically but you know this is what I signed up for and this is a good problem to have.”
So, it forces Wallace, who is a little superstitious, to focus on his recovery and preparation. He catches as much sleep as he can on the plane. He hydrates as much as possible and he uses the blood flow restriction (BFR) machine to help his muscles recover faster.
Though Wallace likes to stick to a routine, he found that he had to freestyle and adjust with all the back and forth over the four days.
To make it back to Atlanta ahead of the Hawks game against the Heat, Wallace had to wake up at 5:45 a.m. to be ready for an 8 a.m. flight that would get him in town for the 3 p.m. tipoff. He landed around noon and had to get everything he needed together so he could make it to the arena by 1 p.m.
The mad dash did not leave him much time to settle down.
“My routine is pretty much the same every time,” Wallace said. “So, I have shootaround in the morning. I didn’t get any shootaround these last few games just because I was on the flight on the way to (Atlanta). So I had no shootaround. My breakfast, (usually) it’s pretty much already set with both teams. I didn’t have it since I was on the plane during breakfast. So, my lunchtime was thrown off a little bit. I like to sleep at a certain time if I know we’re gonna play at seven.
“So the details was very different. Shooting — my pregame shooting time is the same, with the G League or with the Hawks is the exact same. So now I’m shooting at different times. So I guess you call it superstitious. Everything, it wasn’t going as planned or as routine as it usually is. So, I’m eating at different times I’m napping at different times. So I’m just you know freestyling it.”
All the travel resulted in his family freestyling with him. Wallace initially planned to travel home to spend Christmas with his parents, partner and young son. But with him playing the Hawks, his partner and son flew to Atlanta and spent the holidays in the Peach State instead.
But Wallace has found the bright side in the chaos of everything.
The 25-year-old has noticed his confidence has grown thanks to his Hawks teammates. Wallace said he feels like they believe in him and that they enjoy being on the court with him.
“Even with some of the plays that they throw in while I’m in the G League, they’re very helpful in getting me caught up to speed with everything,” he said.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder has also empowered Wallace, and it’s allowed the 25-year-old guard to really buy into the culture the team has looked to build.
“He told me he loves my game, and he likes how hard I play,” Wallace said. “So he, called me ‘a warrior’ one time, and it was like the best thing ever for me. I feel like that took my confidence in my game to a whole ‘nother level, and he’s been helping me understand the philosophy behind the offense ... so I’m bought into everything he says. He’s steering our team in a great direction right now.”
With the ups and downs that come with playing on a two-way contract, Wallace has no clue what the future holds. Of course, making it onto a standard contract will reinforce the hard work he has put in over the years, but his focus remains on taking everything in stride.
“I‘ll just say that you know I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow,” Wallace said. “... Like we said to begin, everything is not going as planned, in a good way. So, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what’s gonna happen or what next month would look like. I just want myself to be ready for the opportunity that presents itself.”
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