Atlanta Hawks make key decision regarding Bruno Fernando

The Atlanta Hawks were unlikely to enter the season with four centers on their roster – Clint Capela, Cody Zeller, Onyeka Okongwu and Bruno Fernando – but today they decided to free up some roster space by letting Fernando go.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Hawks are waiving Fernando.

After being selected by the 76ers with the 34th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, Fernando was immediately traded to Atlanta. He split time between the Hawks’ rotation and College Park as a rookie, getting minutes as a bench center. Fernando was then traded to the Boston Celtics before being sent to the Houston Rockets after the Celtics acquired Daniel Theis. Fernando returned to Atlanta as part of a deal with the Houston Rockets that sent Justin Holiday, Frank Kaminsky and two second-round picks to Houston in exchange for Fernando and forward Garrison Mathews.

The Hawks got the upper hand in this deal as both Mathews and Fernando played valuable roles for Atlanta last season. Fernando was notably one of the most efficient third-pointers in the league and showed some growth in 2023-24. He averaged 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and one assist in 15.2 minutes per game. He functioned well as a paint scorer, hitting 60 percent of his three-pointers.

I thought Fernando played well on offense and knew his responsibilities. He’s pretty strong for a small center (6’11”) and was always able to set good screens to give shooters room. He stepped into the backup center role against the Bulls and did what he could to keep the Hawks afloat in Capela’s absence.

His best game of the season came against the Charlotte Hornets in the regular season, where he scored 25 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the Hawks’ win. He was regularly matched up against either Grant Williams or Tre Mann and was able to exploit that mismatch to great effect. He also showed remarkable footwork against Nick Richards throughout the game – Charlotte simply had no one to reliably cover him with. While he’s not a three-point shooter, his touch around the basket and footwork are reliable and consistent parts of his game.

Fernando is likely to find a new team that desperately needs depth at center. Unfortunately, the Hawks are not that team. With that extra roster spot, they can either make a trade or sign a veteran who will have a bigger impact on the 2024-25 team.

I wish Bruno all the best!