The Hawks did make a free-agent signing after all.
The Hawks have agreed to a deal with free-agent center Alex Len, according to a person familiar with the situation. The deal will be for two years and $8.5 million.
The deal, first reported by Yahoo Sports, will be fully guaranteed. The Hawks have not announced the deal. It likely won’t be made official until after the agreed-upon three-team trade with the Thunder and 76ers is completed that includes Dennis Schroder and Carmelo Anthony.
Len, 7-foot-1, 260 pounds, was a No. 5 overall draft pick in 2013 by the Suns out of Maryland. He spent his entire five-year career with the organization. The 25-year-old Ukrainian averaged 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds with a .485 field-goal percentage in 335 career games. He averaged 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in 69 games last season.
Len is more of a traditional center, as he has taken just 25 3-point attempts, with six makes, in his career.
The Suns informed Len they would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent, a move made official in June. Len became expendable when the Suns selected center DeAndre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft last month.
“I’m looking forward to this offseason,” Len to azcentral.com in March. “I think it’s going to be exciting. It’s the first time I’m actually going to have a chance to go where I want to go.”
The Hawks will have a vacancy in the frontcourt after Mike Muscala is traded to the 76ers as part of the three-team trade.
The Hawks have John Collins, Dewayne Dedmon, Miles Plumlee and rookie Omari Spellman at center.
The Hawks roster will stand at 13 players, all with guaranteed contracts, once the two deals are completed.
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