The Atlanta Hawks announced that they have signed forward Austin Daye to a ten-day contract. This move by the Hawks is mostly down to the team losing Mike Scott to a broken toe earlier this week.
The injury suffered by Scott on Wednesday playing against the Denver Nuggets, was originally thought to be just a strain but scans later revealed that the toe was indeed broken. Mike Scott, who usually plays off the bench, will have his usual role filled by Austin Daye, whilst he recovers from his injury. Scott will be examined by a foot expert on Monday, and the full extent of the injury and how long he will be out will be known then.
Mike Scott has been extremely reliable coming off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks this season. The forward is currently averaging 7.5 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Austin Daye is a reliable temporary replacement for Scott, as Daye can also provide consistently good minutes coming off the bench. Austin Daye is an NBA veteran, having played for four teams in his career, including the Spurs and the Raptors. Daye has seen some action this season playing 26 games for the San Antonio Spurs. Daye averaged 4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He has also appeared in 5 career NBA playoff games.
In 10 games this season with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League, Daye has averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 blocks in 28.5 minutes.
Austin Daye will find it difficult to earn a longer deal with the Atlanta Hawks, as he was added only for depth reasons. And with Mike Scott expected to be back sooner rather than later, Daye will have his minutes off the bench in Atlanta and then will likely return to the NBA D-League.
Daye was originally selected by the Pistons in the first round (15th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft after a two-year college career at Gonzaga.
