Peachtree Hoops: Hawks Waive Damien Wilkins.

[Hawksquawk]

More photos » Kevin C. Cox - Getty Images

No guarantees.

Browse more photos »

It's official. Another ex-Hawk Wilkins:

From the official statement:

The

Atlanta Hawks

today requested waivers on guard/forward

Damien Wilkins

, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Rick Sund.

Wilkins has appeared in 13 games off the bench for Atlanta this season, averaging 2.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 0.7 spg and 0.6 apg (.464 FG%, .636 FT%) in 13.1 mpg. The University of Georgia product was originally signed by the Hawks on December 3, 2010.

Surprised? You shouldn't be despite Bill Walton's flowery words last night about the former legal troubles being resolved in the Hawks organization and therefore frees the Hawks up financially.

Not so much.

From the Real MC:

The move came five days before the date in which the team would have had to guarantee his salary for the remainder of the season if he were on the roster. With 13 players on the roster, the Hawks do not need to replace Wilkins' spot.     

MC also notes the preponderance of players playing Wilkins' position, though one of them, Marvin, is just as injured as Joe was when Wilkins appeared on the roster. The Hawks can have up to 15 players on the roster, meaning that even with Pape Sy in Utah at the moment the Hawks could have kept Wilkins, but it would have meant spending the minimum for the full season! Egad! Can't do that!

Ultimately, the move is meh, Wilkins got way more credit for anything he did on the court and probably more run than a off-the-street free agent perhaps should have received, but just the same, if he was worth playing some key minutes late in games, wouldn't he be worth keeping around in case of injury, especially given the unknown state of Marvin's back?

Alas, Wilkins will have most likely have to settle for holding the unofficial record for the ratio of excitement from the home broadcast team to minutes on the floor during his (13) game stint. The previous record holder was Mario West.

View the full article