Babbitt reaches deal with Hawks

MIAMI — The last of the Heat’s free agents has come to terms, with forward Luke Babbitt reaching a one-year agreement with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Heat acquired Babbitt last summer from the Pelicans for a second-round pick and cash. He started in 55 of his 68 appearances in his lone season in South Florida.

Despite owning Babbitt’s Bird Rights, with the ability to go over the salary cap to retain the outside-shooting big man, the Heat instead waived that right in order to maximize the salary-cap space needed to sign Celtics free-agent forward Kelly Olynyk and retain forward James Johnson and guards Dion Waiters and Wayne Ellington.

Babbitt will earn $1.9 million this season from the rebuilding Hawks, with his agreement reported by Basketball Insiders and ESPN.

Babbitt’s chances of a Heat return were diminished with the first-round selection of Kentucky big man Bam Adebayo and the signing of Olynyk.

After uneven showings in his first six NBA seasons evenly split between Portland and New Orleans, Babbitt last season established personal highs with the Heat with 87 3-pointers, 20 steals and 11 blocked shots, leading the Heat in plus-minus rating in seven games.

Babbitt was the last player to reach an agreement of the Heat’s five free agents this offseason, with Johnson, Waiters and forward Udonis Haslem re-signing and center Willie Reed moving on to the Clippers, also on a one-year, veteranminimum contract.

Babbitt could find playing time with the Hawks, who lost power forward Paul Millsap in free agency and traded center Dwight Howard, possibly looking for a veteran to help groom first-round draft pick John Collins, the Wake Forest power forward out of Cardinal Newman High School. The Hawks this summer also added journeyman big man Dewayne Dedmon.

The Heat have 16 players under contract, four shy of the NBA offseason maximum. Teams must trim to a maximum of 15 by opening night.