The two-way contract has made things better from a development standpoint in the NBA. Basically, each team receives two extra roster spots for players who can go up and down from the G-League until they max out at 45 days with the NBA team. More and more success stories are starting to come from the new contracts, including the Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson this season. Brandon Goodwin, who is on a two-way contract between the Atlanta Hawks and the College Park Skyhawks, has not quite been on Robinson’s level, but he has impressed as a backup option at point guard as of late.
Goodwin is a local product out of Norcross High School. He played ball at Central Florida before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast University, where he was named the 2018 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year. However, Goodwin went undrafted. He went on to play for the Memphis Grizzles in Summer League and then the G League, and later signed a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets that allowed him to make his first few NBA appearances.
Back in August, Goodwin signed a two-way contract with his hometown Hawks. He impressed in College Park, averaging 19.1 points and 7.5 assists per game. And with the Hawks having no backup point guard on the roster at the time, he got his crack in Atlanta.
Frankly, Goodwin has outperformed Jeff Teague since his acquisition, though Teague had trouble getting his feet wet in Atlanta and seems to be finding a groove. With that being said, Teague is on an expiring contract, and even if the Hawks would like to bring in another veteran point guard for next season, Goodwin has performed well enough to at least be guaranteed a roster spot.
The numbers will not pop out at you due to limited minutes, and he is not the biggest player on the court, but if you have been keeping up with the Hawks, there are moments where you see Goodwin play and say, “Wow.” He has been a bit inconsistent, but when he is on, he looks like he belongs on an NBA court.
If I am Atlanta, I am bringing back Goodwin at a very reasonable price for another season or two with partial guarantees. They now have two roster openings due to the trade deadline moves they have made, and this would still allow another roster spot to take a chance on another player with a 10-Day contract, or take on some salary for future assets. He is approaching 45 days with the Hawks, so they will have to decide on him soon. Goodwin deserves a chance to at least be a third point guard, and with him still being 24 years old, there is always the potential for more.
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