Hawks Sign Guard Keaton Wallace to Two-Way Contract

The guard made a big impression in the Summer League opener against the Washington Wizards.

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Keaton Wallace (22) drives the ball against Washington Wizards forward John Butler Jr. (19) during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

Even though the Hawks were not able to get a win over the Wizards in their Summer League opener, Keaton Wallace picked up a victory of his own.

After the game, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski announced that Wallace has been signed to a two-way contract with the Hawks.

Free agent guard Keaton Wallace has agreed on a two-way contract with the Atlanta Hawks, his agents Max Lipsett and Marcus Monk of @excelbasketball tell ESPN. Wallace has had G League stops with the Hawks and Clippers. pic.twitter.com/TkkzxiZG5r

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 13, 2024

Based on his first stint with the Hawks, this makes complete sense. Wallace was a defensive force for the Hawks tonight, slotting in perfectly as both an on and off-ball defender. Despite not starting the game, he was part of the closing lineup as the Hawks looked to steal the win in the fourth quarter. I was especially impressed by how he played on-ball, but he showed great awareness as a weak-side defender too. In his 23 minutes of action, he put up 10 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 stocks. He showed off a fairly reliable jumper, even if his shot didn't fall from three-point range (1 for 4). Wallace was the only player who played 20+ minutes and graded out with a positive plus-minus, indicating his contributions on both sides of the ball.

As a two-way player, he'll be an exciting player to track in College Park. The Skyhawks had the third-highest defensive rating across all G League teams last season and Wallace will only supplement that infrastructure. The Hawks' development system has been one of the better ones in the league recently. Players like Jalen Johnson, Kobe Bufkin and Vit Krejci showed promise as Skyhawks and brought those efforts over to the Atlanta squad. Wallace has an excellent chance to be its latest success story.

My thoughts on him prior to Summer League can be found below:

Keaton Wallace (G, Texas-San Antonio, USA) - While fans might be more familiar with his younger brother Cason, who gave the Oklahoma City Thunder good minutes as a rotation shooter, Keaton is a nice development project.Last year, he averaged 12.9 points, 6.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals on 37% shooting from 3-point range on three attempts a game with the Ontario Clippers. He earned a two-way spot with Los Angeles and it's not inconceivable to think he could earn a similar deal in Atlanta. He's a good defensive rebounder and playmaker on a Summer League roster lacking playmakers. If he can show real flashes of being a ball handler during his stint in Las Vegas, he could be stashed in College Park and elevated to the active roster in the event of injuries to Young or Bufkin.