Hawks Sign Two-Way Wing To Two-Way Contract

In 14 games, he’s averaged 14.2 points and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three.

Despite the small sample size, Plowden’s body of work lends credence to the belief he’s a legitimate three-point threat. In 2023-24, he shot 38.8 percent from three with the G League’s Osceola Magic. The season prior, he converted 36.8 percent of his threes while with the G League’s Birmingham Squadron.

With Plowden essentially replacing Seth Lundy, his ability to be a steady presence beyond the arc could be particularly important. To that point, Lundy made 41.9 percent of his threes while on assignment with the College Park Skyhawks last season. Unfortunately, the Penn State products was injury-prone, leading to Atlanta severing ties with him after drafting him 46th overall in 2023.

Plowden isn’t quite as aggressive as Lundy, who averaged 23.1 points per game with the Skyhawks. Even in college, he was more comfortable being a secondary or tertiary scorer. It wasn’t until his fifth and final season that had Bowling Green’s highest scoring average.

However, there’s still plenty to like about him. Aside from being an efficient off-ball threat, he makes a consistent effort to relocate, which both shifts the defense and makes it easier to keep the ball in motion. He’s also a solid athlete with a muscular frame, which helps him effectively attack closeouts. At the defensive end, he’s displayed a knack for attacking passing lanes.

He’s a role player.

Nonetheless, if he’s called up by Atlanta, that’s likely the role he’d have played regardless. The only Hawks players averaging above 13.0 points per game this season are Trae Young (22.0), Jalen Johnson (19.8), and De’Andre Hunter (20.3). Everyone else, excluding Bogdan Bogdanovic perhaps, gets in where they fit in.

Daeqwon’s Debut

Bogdanovic’s injury concerns make it possible that Plowden’s NBA debut comes sooner rather than later. The Serbian sharpshooter has played in just 14 of the team’s 31 games this season. Garrison Mathews has benefited from his absence, as he’s currently averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 46.5 percent from three. However, right now he’s Atlanta’s only knockdown that primarily plays as an off-ball wing.

At least he was, with Plowden now on board.