Kent Bazemore, Hawks Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Reaction

Kent Bazemore picked the best time to have the best season in his NBA career. 

The 27-year-old will be staying with the Atlanta Hawks, parlaying his strong work on the court into a new deal, the team announced on Thursday.

The contract is a four-year deal worth $70 million, ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported on July 1. The Vertical's Shams Charania confirmed the report and added that the fourth year of Bazemore's deal will be a player option.

“We are excited to re-sign Kent and welcome him back to the Hawks,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said in Atlanta's release. “His passion for the game is contagious and through his tireless work ethic, he has developed into a dynamic two-way player. We look forward to his continued development with us.”

Through his first two years in the league, Bazemore was known primarily for his celebrations on the bench. He played only 4.4 minutes per game for the Golden State Warriors in the 2012-13 season, but he was among the team's most recognizable players:

After the Warriors traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers, Bazemore enjoyed a successful back half of the 2013-14 season, but his career didn't take off until he replaced DeMarre Carroll at the 3 in Atlanta.

Bazemore averaged 11.6 points per game on 44.1 percent shooting, including 35.7 percent from three-point range, in 2015-16. He and Carroll were similar offensively. Here are Bazemore's averages per 36 minutes from 2015-16 compared to Carroll's in 2014-15, per Basketball-Reference.com:

Player	G	FGM	FGA	FG%	3PM	3PA	3P%	PTS	AST
DeMarre Carroll	70	5.2	10.7	.487	2.0	5.0	.395	14.5	1.9
Kent Bazemore	75	5.5	12.5	.441	1.9	5.3	.357	15.1	3.0

Considering Bazemore earned $2 million last year compared to $13.6 million for Carroll, per Spotrac, Atlanta wasn't much worse off without Carroll—who went to the Toronto Raptors—in the fold.

In his list of the top 50 free agents available this summer, Bleacher Report's Dan Favale ranked Bazemore 16th overall:

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Ten players, including Bazemore, concluded the regular season collecting at least 15 points, three assists and 1.5 steals per 36 minutes while shooting 35 percent or from distance. Minus Bazemore, this group reads like a who's who of superstars and fringe stars: Stephen Curry, Paul George, James Harden, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Chris Paul, Jeff Teague, Kemba Walker and John Wall.

Not one of these other nine names, however, tallied a better DBPM [defensive box plus/minus] than Bazemore. So, yeah, we might as well face it: Bazemore is probably getting more than $12 million per year.

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Now, the big question is whether Bazemore can provide similar value when he's not a massive bargain. While his career appears to be on the upswing, he also turned 27 on July 1, so it's fair to wonder how much better he can get.

In addition, Bazemore remains a limited shooter despite all of the progress he has made. His efficiency on catch-and-shoot jumpers was far higher than when he pulled up, per NBA.com:

Type	Frequency	FG%	3P%	eFG%
Catch-and-Shoot	34.4%	40.2%	39.4%	58.4%
Pull-Up	18.6%	27.3%	27.5%	34.5%

His three-point percentage also dropped noticeably when he left the elbow, per NBA.com:

Area	3PM	3PA	FG%	eFG%
Left Corner 3	24	58	41.4%	62.1%
Right Corner 3	24	59	40.7%	61.7%
Above-the-Break 3	60	186	32.3%	48.4%

Some draw comparisons between Bazemore and Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler, who incrementally improved over his first three seasons and made the All-Star Game in his fourth year. Bazemore could have a similar trajectory. Butler, however, was in his age-25 season when he earned his first trip to the All-Star Game in 2014-15.

Danny Green might be a better parallel for Bazemore. The San Antonio Spurs shooting guard has excelled in a three-and-D role after a nondescript start to his NBA career.

Bazemore isn't the kind of player a team can build around. As a sixth man or fourth or fifth option in the starting lineup, though, he should be worth the money Atlanta will be paying him, especially if his shooting continues trending upward.

Staying with the Hawks is also a smart move for Bazemore. In May, he discussed how he found a nice comfort zone with the team, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

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I would love to return here. I think the past two years I've taken a tremendous leap. Not only my professional year but personally. I'm growing more into myself and figuring out life. This place as a special place in my heart. I grew up right up the street in North Carolina. Super close to home. Not close enough. Has its perks here. The weather is great. Golf is great. God is great.

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Whether re-signing Bazemore is the right move for Atlanta is up for debate, though. Al Horford is also a free agent this offseason, while Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver can become free agents next summer. Even further down the road, the team will have to determine whether it wants to commit to younger stars such as Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr.

And that doesn't even take into account any improvements the Hawks want to make to the roster.

Given the salary-cap ramifications it carries, bringing Bazemore back may not have been the best use of Atlanta's financial resources.