The Atlanta Hawks have signed former G League and CEBL guard Jordan Bowden to an Exhibit 10 contract. The signing brings the guard back to the Hawks organization following a stint with their G League team last season. Bowden spent this summer split between the CEBL and playing for the Hawks’ summer league team.
Jordan Bowden Signs Exhibit 10 Contract With Hawks https://t.co/MOTtoclPWk pic.twitter.com/sARSB8oVus
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) September 26, 2024
Hawks Sign Jordan Bowden to Exhibit 10 Deal
Atlanta Hawks Award Exhibit 10 Deal to Jordan Bowden
Earlier this summer, the Montreal Alliance of the Canadian Elite Basketball League announced that Jordan Bowden would join the Atlanta Hawks on their summer league team in Las Vegas. As the upcoming NBA season is just weeks away from kickoff and training starts next week, the Hawks are bringing Bowden back on an Exhibit 10 contract.
The contract gives Bowden another opportunity to play within the Hawks organization. Last season, the guard split time between two NBA G League teams, the College Park Skyhawks (Atlanta’s affiliate) and the Maine Celtics (Boston’s affiliate). In 25 regular season games representing both teams, Bowden averaged 13.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Bowden will most likely return to the Skyhawks with this new deal in Atlanta. However, anything is possible, and I’m sure he would love a chance to see some playing time on an NBA floor. Bowden has also played with the G League’s Long Island Nets. In France, he spent time with SLUC Nancy Basket of the LNB Pro A.
Up To This Point…
Bowden is a former Tennessee Volunteer who played NCAA college ball from 2016-20. During his four-year college stay, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and shot 34.1% from three. He was part of two Volunteer appearances in the NCAA tournament. Bowden has bounced around the G League following his college career. But he found another basketball opportunity in Canada’s professional league, where he played for the Montreal Alliance. Before joining Atlanta in Las Vegas for summer league, Bowden was fourth in the Canadian league in points per game (18.5). He also averaged 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists while shooting 37.8% from the three-point line.
CEBL Is Becoming a Solid Portal for NBA Opportunities
The pro-Canadian league has increasingly been turning into a productive portal for the NBA and G League in recent years. This bodes well for those players who are sometimes seeking a second or even third chance to play with an NBA organization. Since last summer, several CEBL journeymen have signed Exhibit 10 deals, including Taze Moore (Trail Blazers), Jackson Rowe (Golden State), Elijah Harkless (LA Clippers), and A.J. Lawson (Dallas). Since the CEBL’s birth, at least 18 players have signed a deal of some degree with an NBA organization and its G League affiliate.
As for the Hawks…
The Hawks are coming off an offseason that saw them move on from Dejounte Murray. Murray had been paired with Trae Young for the past two seasons in hopes of turning the Hawks into a contender. However, the duo never clicked fully, and Atlanta failed to achieve any playoff success. Following a first-round exit in Murray’s first season, the team missed the playoffs completely last season. It feels like a decade ago, Young led the Hawks into the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. Where the Hawks go from here with Young is still being determined. Over the past year, trade speculation has circled the three-time All-Star.
