Michael Scotto of The Athletic New York reports that the Atlanta Hawks will not tender a qualifying offer for two-way prospect Josh Magette. This means that the veteran guard will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Magette spent the 2017-18 season as a member of the Hawks organization, splitting time between Atlanta and the Erie BayHawks, their G League affiliate. With the BayHawks, he stood as a huge part of an expansion squad that finished the season with a 28-22 record. Many of his contributions came as a facilitator while averaging a league-best 10.1 assists, with a superb 3.23 assist/turnover ratio.
Unfortunately, the good news ends there, as Magette was extremely inefficient as an offensive weapon. With Erie, he averaged 15.1 points on 37% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc on 5.7 perimeter attempts per game. These averages led to him maintaining a career-worse 49% True Shooting Percentage, a four percent decrease over the TS% he had in the prior year. Magette’s issues with consistency carried over to his time with the Atlanta Hawks as he put up 2.6 points on 33% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc.
Those issues, combined with Atlanta reportedly signing former St. Bonaventure guard Jaylen Adams to a two-way deal, make it no surprise that the Hawks decided to let Magette become an unrestricted free agent.
Fortunately, the G League veteran didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity as he will be playing for the Golden State Warriors during both Vegas and California Summer League. He’ll have an opportunity to work with solid offensive players like Jordan Bell, Damian Jones, Omari Johnson, J.P. Tokoto and Gian Clavell. This wide array of weapons could also lead Magette getting some more opportunities to score the ball, which might rebuild his reputation after that rough year with Erie. He might be a fantastic facilitator, but NBA teams expect their point guards to score around the rim and/or be a consistent 3-point shooter, two traits that he struggles with.
If that’s the case, Magette will have two options: go back to the G League or take a more lucrative offer to play in Europe. For that first choice, he can return to a familiar location where he’s been great since he first started to play for the LA D-Fenders in 2013-14. In addition to that, he has a legitimate chance to become the G League’s all-time assists king, as he’s currently 438 assists behind Curtis Stinson for that top spot.
Looking at Europe, Magette may be a better fit in that style of basketball as their offenses are more focused on spacing and working in half-court offenses. In addition to the style of play, the pay would be better for Magette if he played in the EuroLeague. Although its tough to find official contract information, we’ve seen reports of American-born players like Pierre Jackson and Russ Smith earning contracts that can go as high as six to seven figures.
Should the NBA no longer be in the cards for Josh Magette, the veteran guard will have no problem finding a spot to play basketball in the upcoming season, whether that’s in the G League or Europe.