Hawks, Timberwolves Complete Trade

The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired a former lottery pick in a deal with the Atlanta Hawks. 

NEWS: The Wolves have acquired the returning player rights to Nik Stauskas from @CPSkyhawks in exchange for the returning player rights of Chris Silva.#RaisedByWolves

Full Release: https://t.co/3tx6QCwg6s pic.twitter.com/1plmlTNz7l

— Iowa Wolves (@iawolves) August 25, 2022

The Canadian-born Nik Stauskas is the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. He'll likely head to the T-Wolves' training camp after making it back to the league briefly last season for a handful of games following two years overseas and in the G League.

In 6 years of NBA play, Stauskas has averaged 6.7 points and 1.5 assists, while shooting 35% from three-point range. The T-Wolves will be his 8th NBA team. 

In exchange, the Hawks have added some depth to their organizational power forward ranks, by acquiring the returning player rights to 6'8" Chris Silva. 

OFFICAL: We've acquired the returning player rights to Chris Silva and Giorgi Bezhanishvili.

Read more ⤵️https://t.co/vP0W1DpUom pic.twitter.com/qFJ3f1cnFH

— College Park Skyhawks (@CPSkyhawks) August 26, 2022

While he was acquired by the Hawks' G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, he'll likely get a shot at Hawks training camp.  

After going undrafted in 2019, the now-26-year-old Silva has played a total of 69 games in the NBA over the last three seasons, for three different teams. He's averaged 2.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in under 8 minutes per game, for the Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings and Minnesota Timberwolves. 

At South Carolina, he was the 2018 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year, with averages of 16.5 points and 10.2 rebounds. 

Photo: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports