Atlanta Hawks sign Dominick Barlow to two-way contract

Today was a busy day for the Atlanta Hawks. After letting go of center Bruno Fernando, they reportedly added a young winger with their latest two-way contract. The Hawks have already signed Seth Lundy and Keaton Wallace to two-way contracts, but they still had one more two-way deal remaining.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, they decided to use it on Barlow.

This is a pick that makes sense for Atlanta and has good potential. First, Barlow is only 21 years old. He was not selected in the 2022 NBA Draft but signed with San Antonio on a two-way deal. Barlow decided to play with the Overtime Elite rather than a college program and put up decent numbers that earned him an invite to the NBA Combine. He scored 14.8 points on 58.5% mid-range shooting and 34% from three-point range. The fact that he can hold his own against professional players at 18 is a positive sign for his development.

Barlow’s departure to San Antonio wasn’t due to talent, but rather need. His rookie year saw him play sparingly and spend most of his time in the G League. As he grew, he began to find his groove, averaging 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds in 18 games with the Austin Spurs. He then found his place in the Spurs’ rotation by the end of the year, capping off a late-season breakout performance with 21 points and 19 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks in the final game of the year. For reference, he would have been the youngest NBA player to go 20-20 with one more rebound.

He continued to play a similar role in 2023-24, but showed clear signs of improvement. Rather than just being good in the G League, he began to dominate his competition. He increased his points per game to 23.7 to go along with 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Barlow’s production allowed him to gain more exposure at the NBA level, where he showed a good motor and quick feet to keep up with smaller players. While small for a center at 6’1″, he is much better suited as a wing. Atlanta should keep him there and work on developing his offensive game. He shows some signs of being a three-pointer (he made three of his nine attempts) and he has touch as a shooter. Barlow uses his floater frequently around the rim and has had some success with it, albeit limited. Around the rim, he shot 58 percent for a 48.3 percent shooting percentage from 3-10 feet and 48 percent from 10-16 feet. Both are better than league average. Again, all of his stats are on fairly limited volume, but there are tools to work with here.

Under his two-way contract, Barlow will get plenty of minutes in the G League. While his numbers should continue to be impressive, Atlanta is hoping he can polish his defense in College Park while getting the minutes he needs to grow as a scorer. If he proves too good for the G League, I wouldn’t be surprised if he contributes to the Hawks’ rotation late in the year.

Signing a player with Barlow’s potential at his age to a two-way deal is a good move by the Hawks’ management. It remains to be seen how much upside the Hawks can get out of this deal, but it costs them virtually nothing to figure out whether Barlow can become a rotational winger or even a backup center.