Hawks Waive Edy Tavares, Sign Ryan Kelly

The Atlanta Hawks front office, in a move coming off the heels of forward Mike Scott’s injury, decided to waive Edy Tavares. Tavares, who is a 7’3 center who came off the bench, spent time as a project; playing a season overseas and in the NBA’s Development League. The Hawks signed 6’11 forward Ryan Kelly to fill in the void.

Via Fox Sports.

Atlanta Hawks center Edy Tavares, the franchise’s 7-foot-3 second-round pick in the 2014 draft, was released on Monday.

The Hawks requested waivers on the 24-year-old big man and plan to fill his roster spot by signing 6-foot-11 forward Ryan Kelly, who participated in training camp and played with Atlanta during preseason, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania.

The move comes in advance of Mike Scott undergoing non-surgical procedures on his left knee that will cost him around four weeks.

Tavares was widely viewed as the final inclusion on the Hawks roster after being selected as a long-term project two years ago. After spending one year overseas and another bouncing between the Hawks bench and the NBA D-League, the Hawks will walk away from the Maio, Cape Verde product after just 11 regular-season games played.

Kelly played three NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He provides a more skillful offensive presence on Atlanta’s bench, particularly in the shooting department left void by Scott’s absence.