Marco Belinelli Becomes Free Agent After Hawks Contract Buyout

The Atlanta Hawks announced they waived veteran shooting guard Marco Belinelli on Friday.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the sides were finalizing the contract buyout.

Atlanta was unable to trade Belinelli prior to Thursday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, but several contenders are reportedly interested in signing him once he becomes a free agent. According to Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are among the teams potentially interested.

The 31-year-old Belinelli is in the midst of his 11th NBA season, his first with the Hawks.

In 52 games during the current campaign, Belinelli is averaging 11.4 points, 2.0 assists and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from beyond the arc.

The 2007 first-round pick from Italy has also enjoyed stints with the Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Spurs, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Hornets.

Belinelli has never spent more than two consecutive seasons with a single NBA team.

For his career, Belinelli is averaging 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. His biggest asset is as a three-point shooter, as evidenced by a solid career conversion rate of 37.7 percent.

Belinelli is accustomed to being an offensive spark plug who has come off the bench for nearly his entire career, and he could be a quality addition to a contending team in need of more offensive punch from its reserves down the stretch.