After reaching a buyout with the Los Angeles Laker, veteran point guard Jose Calderon planned to sign with the Golden State Warriors. Calderon would have been a great veteran pickup for the Warriors to add to their bench unit. However, the Warriors were forced to change course and sign Matt Barnes in the wake of Kevin Durant’s MCL injury that will keep him out for an extended time.
Although the Warriors still honored their prior agreement with Calderon, the Spaniard had once again hit the open market. But Calderon may not last long because he’s already drawn interest from one Eastern conference playoff team.
Following from Marc Stein of ESPN.
The Atlanta Hawks plan to sign veteran point guard Jose Calderon ?as early as Saturday, according to league sources.
Sources told ESPN.com that the Hawks have targeted Calderon to fill their final open roster spot after the Spaniard had initially planned to join the Golden State Warriors upon securing a buyout earlier this week from the Los Angeles Lakers.
(UPDATE 3/4/17): The Hawks have claimed Calderon off waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Atlanta has claimed Jose Calderon off waivers, league source tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) March 4, 2017
The Atlanta Hawks are currently sitting at the 5th seed in the eastern conference. With a Lowry-less Raptors team and a need for a veteran backup to Dennis Schroder, Jose Calderon makes sense for Atlanta. We will see what happens this coming Saturday as Calderon will be able to be signed after clearing waivers.
The Hawks can either try to claim Calderon off waivers themselves Saturday at 5 p.m. and absorb the roughly $400,000 that Golden State owes him for the balance of the season. Or they can choose to sign Calderon to a veteran minimum deal of their own when he clears waivers.
