Hawks waiving former second-round pick

The move will let Atlanta off the hook for Fernando’s $2,717,391 salary for the 2024-2025 season. That money was set to become fully guaranteed if the 25-year-old remained under contract through this Thursday. By waiving him before then, the Hawks will be able to remove it all from their cap, taking the team’s salary below the luxury-tax line.

Fernando’s salary guarantee date was originally set for June 29. He and the Hawks reached an agreement to move it back to July 10, then pushed it back again to August 1.

Given that Atlanta likely would have waived him on June 29 or July 10 if he hadn’t agreed to move back his guarantee date, Fernando had some incentive to play ball in the hopes of receiving his full salary, as he did a year ago after the team postponed his guarantee deadline and then ultimately hung onto him.

It looks like it won’t work out for him this year, though, and it may be more difficult for him to find a new NBA home this late in the offseason, with fewer roster spots available around the league. Still, the free-agent market for centers has been picked pretty clean, so he should immediately become one of the most intriguing options available.

A five-year veteran who was a second-round pick in 2019, Fernando began his NBA career with the Hawks and was traded back to Atlanta in February 2023.

After playing eight games for the Hawks down the stretch of the 2022-2023 season, he didn’t play much at all in the first half of 2023-2024, appearing in just 13 of Atlanta’s first 49 games for an average of 6.5 minutes per contest. 

However, he was thrust into a larger role in the second half due to a series of frontcourt injuries, averaging 7.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG while shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and 70.1 percent from the line over his final 32 games (18.7 MPG).

Assuming the Hawks officially waive Fernando before 5:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, he’ll be on track to clear waivers on Thursday. A team interested in placing a claim would have to commit to guaranteeing his 2024-2025 salary.