The Atlanta Hawks are flying high today. First, the Hawks acquired Dwight Howard on a three-year $70 Million deal and now they have re-signed their versatile forward Kent Bazemore with a four-year $70 Million contract.
Kent Bazemore takes four years, $70M, turning down four/$72M from Houston and the Lakers, to go back to the Hawks, per source.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 2, 2016
The surprise here is that Bazemore turned down more money from the Lakers and the Rockets to re-up with the Hawks. Both the Lakers and Rockets offered Bazemore a four-year $72 million dollar deal, which is $2 Million less than the deal he signed with Atlanta. This is a surprise considering the record setting amounts of money that has been flowing on just the first day of NBA Free Agency.
However, I think Bazemore is making the right decision here. He is comfortable with the offense and team chemistry in Atlanta, and has flourished in that system. With Dwight Howard joining the fold, Howard’s presence could translate into more opportunities for success for Bazemore. So perhaps after factoring all of the positives, a $2 Million difference was not enough to sway Basemore to leave.
Bazemore’s decision is a good move for his career and will keep the Hawks in the playoff mix in the Eastern Conference.