Hawks
The Hawks were fortunate to hire Quin Snyder as coach before he could be offered a job by another team, a rival GM told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
“The Hawks were wise to get Quin off the market before other teams could come calling,” the GM told Scotto. “He’ll set the culture. Those that can embrace it will thrive, and those that don’t won’t be in Atlanta for long.”
Those across the league believe Snyder will work with Hawks GM Landry Fields to have a say in the roster.
“I love the Snyder hire,” another NBA executive told Scotto. “He’s one of the smartest coaches in the game. He understands today’s players as well as anyone and builds relationships with his guys. You can’t ask for more in a coach. I think he’ll use the next 20 games to build those relationships and figure out what the team needs moving forward while trying to win and make a playoff push. There will be a lot of team building over the next month.”
- Guard/forward Bogdan Bogdanovic is expected to decline his $18 million player option and enter free agency after the season, per Scotto.
Wizards
The Wizards are back in the race for both a spot in the play-in tournament and playoffs. There’s a sense around the NBA they could even take the place of the quickly fading Nets (now in fifth in the Eastern Conference).
But can the Wizards be a little more consistent?
“That remains to be seen,” forward Kyle Kuzma told reporters. “We come in here and we say it every day, when we have a winning streak, that the tides are turning, and they don’t.”
- The Wizards have 13 home games remaining with just seven on the road. None of those road trips are longer than a game, either. So now would be the time to make their move.
- Guard/forward Corey Kispert knocked down a couple of 3-pointers in Thursday’s win over the Raptors, making him the first player in franchise history to compile 100 made threes in his first two seasons.
Pacers
The Pacers had a listless showing in a loss to the lowly Spurs on Thursday, and their playoff hopes could be slipping away. They currently sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s immaturity mostly,” point guard T.J. McConnell said, via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I think it’s time for us to kind of look ourselves in the mirror and grow up here. We have great guys in the locker room, but we need to be better. Straight up. We can’t go out and play a game like we did against Dallas and lay an egg like this.
“… From top to bottom, we came out here and thought it was gonna be easy. When you play like that, usually the result is what happened (Thursday).”
- Star guard Tyrese Haliburton missed Thursday’s game with a “calf thing,” as coach Rick Carlisle referred to it. Indiana is hopeful Haliburton can return Sunday vs. the Bulls, per Dopirak.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
